Friends Till the End
by nekoanima
Summary: A series of one shot ending ideas that goes with the fic Penpals.
1. Chapter 1

A/N:

**Friends Till the End** is not an actual story this is a post in relation to a poll on my profile depicting which ending the readers of my fic **Penpals** want. This is here to help them decide

As per warning this will be choppy and is really only here to give those reading Penpals a taste of their possible endings to choose from. There will be time lapses and things that wont make sense but like I said it is just for reference.

the only other thing that I have to add is that with this you all will see how horrible my writing style is. i write in stints so there will be areas of great detail then followed by loose guidlines. there will me some references to things that you dont know about but as a whole they wont particularly be important.

After reading through these I would like you all to review and tell me which one to go with and or how to blend some of them for a better ending


	2. Harry realizes too latesad ending

Harry realizes (sad ending)

* * *

><p>YEAR 7<p>

_I'm sorry Tom,_

_I'm not going to be able to write you much longer._

_Good bye my friend._

_Harry_

Tom felt his eyes begin to burn and sting as he read over and over that short letter. There was a splash of rust tinted brown on the parchment-it was blood, dried blood, Harry's blood.

* * *

><p>"I've noticed that you stopped writing Tom. Why is that?"<p>

"I don't want any one to follow my letters and get to him. I don't want to put him in any danger."

"Harry you know he might already be in danger just by having written to you all these years."

"I know that's why I never told him my surname, and why I never asked for his. At first it was just because muggle mail can end up with anyone but then I got to the wizarding world and I realized that I couldn't write who I was or Tom might have gotten hurt. If our surnames were on any of those letters they could have found him."

"Did you tell him that you wouldn't be writing him?"

"No I didn't have time my uncle came I gave the letter to Hedwig before he could get her. Then the lights went out I think he had a bat. I guess you and Ron's portkey activated some time after that."

"why would your uncle have hit you with a bat?"

"its nothing."

"Harry that isn't nothing you were hurt really badly."

"please just leave it alone Hermione."

"did Tom know?"

"he's known me since I was a kid. He knows everything there is to know about me except who I am."

* * *

><p>Harry slept with Voldemort's locket around his neck. Hermione could only watch her friend.<p>

Harry was the only one that the locket didn't hurt. The only thing that changed when he wore it was he could no longer cast a patronus. When it was around Harry's neck it made it all the more clear that Voldemort was once human an angry and scared boy, but once human.

When Ron wore it he was always angry and irritable with migraines. When she wore it, it caused her headaches and she was a little more demanding and bossy.

She had come across Harry holding the locket open one night, a haunting, beautiful melody played from it. Tom Riddle was singing, he wasn't enraged or causing Harry any pain at all. He was simply singing to him.

Harry didn't seem to be completely aware at all, but he wasn't being possessed or in pain. But his eyes were clouded and tears rolled from his eyes. He was disconnected from reality it seemed as if he was trapt inside of his own mind and something of unbelievable sadness dwelled there.

Hermione looked at the portrait of Tom Riddle over Harry's shoulder. She had only seen a picture of Harry's friend Tom when they were younger but Tom Marvolo Riddle looked remarkably similar.

If her suspicions were right then it would break Harry's heart when he realized.

* * *

><p>"<strong>leave them alone!"<strong>

Voldemort looked at the twenty foot long basilisk before him. Normally he would not be such a fool as to gaze upon a basilisk that considered him to be the enemy but something about this one struck a cord in him- she was white.

She was a pearly white flecked with gold. Her blind clouded pink eyes gazed at him harshly.

"**What is your name?"**

"**a speaker? Who are you?"**

"**I asked first lady basilisk."**

"**Lyra, Mum named me Lyra."**

"**Harry's basilisk?" ** Voldemort's gaze softened and he looked at the iridescent serpent stunned. Of all the places to meet his beloved's strange creature this was not one of the ones he had ever expected.

"**Who are you then? Speak Speaker."**

"**I am Lord Voldemort. You would know me by the name Tom."**

"**Mum's mate that isn't a mate?"** Lyra looked at him as if trying to determine the truth of his words.

"**Harry is not coming back. "**

"**That's not true Mum is coming back. I was told to keep the little humans from harm. Mum will come back after I keep them safe." **Voldemort couldn't help but sympathize with the basilisk. She was a remnant from a life he wished he could forget.

"**Harry is dead. She has been for a long time now."**

"**No! That's not right Mum promised. Mum's not dead." **

"**I am afraid she cant keep her promise. She promised a great deal many things that were taken from her."**

"**No, I saw him, I saw Mum this morning. He told me to protect the little humans." **A death eater tried to take advantage of his lord's distracting the great snake only for a pearly blur to strike at him, her venom was more potent than even Slytherin's basilisk's had been. Her killing gaze was taken from her but magic had made her deadly. Harry's magic had given her protection.

"**I know of the one you speak of. He tricked you Lyra. He is not the one who hatched you all those years ago he looks like her but he is not Harry. He is not mine nor yours."**

* * *

><p>"Who was she? That woman you loved?" Harry asked the dark lord simply, remembering the words from the diary. Tom Riddle had loved someone once, he loved her to the very depths of his black heart and he had lost her.<p>

"I will tell you nothing, Potter." Voldemort growled but there was a hurt held deep in his eyes. His Harry was still precious to him his memory of her was all that he had left, he would never give her away. Death had already taken her from him

"I guess Dumbledore was right there really isn't anything human left in you." Harry shook his head solemnly. He knew what he had to do but it hurt, it hurt a lot more than he thought it would to say those words. After all even Tom Riddle deserved a chance.

"AVADA KADAVERA!" the blinding spell that was as green as his own eyes blasted towards him and then he knew no more.

Harry Potter, The Boy Who Lived- was dead.

* * *

><p>"You can't help it Harry."<p>

"But professor."

"it is a tattered shard of Voldemort's own soul. It is beyond help now."

"I feel compelled to take care of it sir." Harry held the pitiful creature in his arms, he took off his own cloak and wrapped it around the thing's tiny body.

The thing's breathing evened out: as though it was no long fighting to do so. Harry held it close so it would stop shuddering. And it did. He hummed to it and it settled peacefully as if it were a babe. The scars and abrasions marring its tiny body healed as he hummed.

"You reminded me of my friend Tom when you were a boy. He's so clever you know. You were too. I wish I knew what could have made someone so much like him become what you did." Harry looked down at the creature in his arms only to find it was a creature no longer. It now had the form of a young toddler with neat dark hair and a soft baby face. The only thing of the creature it had been that remained were its crimson eyes but they were now bright and unclouded just like a babe's. the little thing raised a tiny arm up and put its hand to his scar. A toothless baby grin formed on its face. Harry held it close and raised his own hand to his scar only to find it was there no longer.

"Harry you must go back now."

"Will you look after him?" Dumbledore smiled but it didn't quite reach his eyes.

"I should have known your capacity for love knew no bounds."

"I guess so."

* * *

><p>"Our Harry was the one who sent us here. It's time to move on."<p>

"Harry. My Harry? She's here?"

"Potter was our Harry."

"NO! You lie!"

"why would I lie to myself? We are all dead here. Harry never even knew we were his best friend. The old fool's meddling saw to that."

"if he hadn't we might not have needed to fight. As it was you had the web over you too. The fool poisoned ours and Harry's mind so we could kill each other."

"It was us or Harry."

"we couldn't let that happen, it had to be us."

"Harry was alive all this time. I tried to kill him."

"we fucked up."

"is he safe?"

"as safe as Harry can ever be. You know he attracts trouble"

"he always has, even when it wasn't our fault."

"I think it's time."

"we cant all go. We have to go together but only one can go on."

"then I believe it is time for us to become whole again."

The horcrux pieces all came over to the kneeling man and one by one they put their hands on his shoulders. First his seventeen year old self, then nineteen, and twenty one, then his forty four year old self. Finally all that remained was the childlike aspect that had been nestled in Harry's own soul.

The man who had been Lord Voldemort still kneeled his spirit form quivering, his soul was almost whole, it hadn't been that way in a long time. He hadn't felt what it was like to be whole in ages, he had spent more of his life broken than he had whole. For fifty five years he had been broken and now he was going to be as complete as it could be.

The childlike sliver of his soul smiled.

"hawwy still woves us." With that the small aspect hugged him and disappeared as well. he was near whole and Harry was alive but he wasn't his to have, not anymore. The dead could not keep the living.

* * *

><p>The war had only been over for a few hours. The injured were being healed and the dead were being collected. A few had wanted to parade the dark lord's corpse through the streets of the alleys. Harry forbade them from doing so. They weren't going to be like the ones that they had defeated. They would respect the dead.<p>

* * *

><p><em>Mr. Harry Potter,<em>

_At the defeat of He-Who-Must-No- Be-Named several manors that were not previously documented appeared we would like you and your choice of team to analyze their contents._

_Sincerely_

_Seamus J. Dobody_

_Head of Ministry Public Relations_

"Here this is the list that was in the letter."

Harry looked at the list in Hermione's hand, there had to be at least twenty different properties on the list. From manor's to cottages and several in between.

"we'll go here first" he said pointing to one of them, it was a small house in Albania.

"Why there it's in the middle of no where. Why not Riddle manor?"

"he was in Albania for a long time. That's also where he hid when he was weak. We'll check that place out first. He wouldn't have left anything important in Riddle Manor he hated it there." Ron couldn't help but stare at Harry oddly. How could he possibly know all those things about Voldemort. And why was he so depressed lately. Yeah a lot of people had died but he was alive shouldn't he be happy about that?

"I guess we are supposed to explore and package up his stuff

"that seems to be the plan."

* * *

><p>"you know this place really doesn't look anything like I expected." Ron said looking around. He was right though none of them could have guessed that the house they were exploring belonged to the dark lord.<p>

The whole place was neat and orderly it didn't have many little trinkets on display but it did have a character to it. This wasn't just the place that the Dark Lord had hidden it was his home. But for some reason Harry felt the sadness, that had been in the back of his mind since the moment he fired the final curse, creeping back into his heart.

For some reason it bothered him that the man had lived alone.

Harry looked around the sitting room

Harry looked into one doorway to find that I led to a kitchen with warm stained wooden floors and cabinets.

It was small and simple. Tom would have found it adequate Harry mused, his friend hated cooking.

In the corner of the room he saw a liquor cabinet and wine rack. He examined it until he saw something. There was one bottle that was coated in dust, far more than the others It was a bottle of 1941 Merlot. Harry couldn't help himself from smiling at his own memory of the wine.

"what's wrong Harry?"

"nothing its just that Tom and I had a bottle of this once. Headwig was so pissed at us. We spent new years eve and the early hours of new years day drinking it. After we were both pretty tipsy Tom held on to it. He told me that the next time we drink it, it would be something important." Harry lifted the bottle up from its rack, dust had long settled on that bottle. It was thick and caked on but under it he found something. Under the ages of dust there had been a silken black ribbon tied around the bottle a ribbon with a ring tied in its grasp. It was a circlet of braided silver with two serpent heads clutching a small dimond in their fangs. Their eyes were emerald pinpricks

"what is it?"

"it's a ring it must have been for the girl he liked." Harry stated but for some reason or another he felt overwhelming happiness inside for the dark lord's interest but at the same time he felt the crushing sadness that it had never been accepted.

"Harry this is Voldemort we are talking about, that monster's never liked anyone but that bloody snake."

"no Ron. When I had Riddle's diary he talked about her. He was sad and missed her. She had been killed by a muggle. I think that he really loved her."

"Harry you know that explains an awful lot about him. From what you've told me he was a lonely child. I imagine that her death must have been hard for him if she was all he had. It might even have been his trigger for all of this. You can never know."

"so you're saying he shouldn't have had a friend?"

"no, I think that he would have turned out exactly the same if he never had a friend at all. The only difference is that he would never have known what it was to be happy."

"kind of like Tom. He cant cast a patronus at all. He doesn't have the happy memories for it. And his magic fights using the spell."

"oh go marry that arse already Harry I hate hearing about him."

Harry blushed brightly. "Moving on." He muttered with his face still beet red.

He tried to open a door on the back wall of the sitting room that sat to the left of a flight of stairs.

"Harry you shouldn't touch that!"

"it didn't do anything but its locked."

"Alohamora." Ron waved his wand at the door. Harry pulled again to find it still locked.

"**Open up." **Harry hissed frustrated as he tried to open the door again only this time he found that it did.

"Mate that was parseltounge, I thought that was gone with the scar?"

"so did I. but I will probably make things easier."

"How's that?"

"Its Voldemort's home Ronald. He took pride on being a parselmouth. Please use your common sense."

"so I guess you don't get to be normal after all then."

"I guess not." Harry said sourly, Tom wouldn't have said anything of the sort he would have been happy for him. But it seemed that that wouldn't happen any time soon. he had tried to contact Tom again with a new owl but all his letters had been returned unopened. The only thing he could hope for was that his friend hadn't gotten caught up in the war. But he couldn't stop thinking about his friend, it had nearly been a year since they spoke perhaps Tom had already moved on and decided that he wasn't worth the effort anymore.

But Harry's depressing thoughts were broken by the sight of the room he had just entered.

"Tom would have loved to see this." Harry muttered looking around the library that seemed to double as a study. It was furnished simply and beautifully. The same warm colored wood that decorated the kitchen composed the shelves and desk. Bookshelves filled with books towered from ceiling to floor and wrapped around the whole room.

"Hey were do you think those stairs go?" he asked as they stepped out from the library.

"I don't know but I have a feeling we are going to find out soon."

They climbed the stairs to find that they led down a narrow hall with only a couple of doors down it. Harry stepped towards the door at the end of the hall and jiggled the handle. Like with the library before he gave a simple hissed command and the door did as it was told.

"it was his room." Harry said softly.

"that's creepy mate. That, that evil git actually slept here. I mean did he even sleep?"

"He was still living Ron. He had to sleep and eat just like anyone else." Ron was getting more than a little creeped out by Harry's behavior. He kept sticking up for Voldemort., trying to make him seem human. Why would he do that? He should know better than anyone that he wasn't anything close to human.

The walls were all neutral colors while the curtains over the window were layered with a warm cream, black, and green.

The bed was large and comfortable looking, coated with a large black duvet.

For fleeting moment he thought of Tom

"Harry, what are these?"

"I don't know they look like letters and pictures ."

"Harry this was that picture of you when I got you to cross dress in our fifth year."

"'You mean Voldemort saw that!"

"no harry that's just it, the picture looks old now I think … I think Tom Riddle saw it."

"Tom." Harry froze and his eyes seemed to glass over. All his memories of the other boy rushed through his mind, the haze over them had lifted. The room around them began to feel suffocating with his realization. All it had taken was that tiny push and the world around him came tumbling down.

"My friend Tom. He… he was Voldemort." The dark haired boy whispered it felt as though his soul was being drowned in a bucket of ice.

"I'm really sorry about this Harry but it's necessary."

"wha?"

"_Somnus_." With that Harry passed out.

Hermione looked at her now sleeping friend and a memory that she had never had flashed in her mind.

_They were in the forest, just the two of them and the locket. The locket stopped singing to Harry and Riddle looked up at her._

"_keep him safe."_

"_why would you want him safe."_

"_because he reminds me of someone." The portrait looked away from her._

"_you are Harry's best friend Tom aren't you?"_

"_I was once."_

"_then why don't you tell him?"_

"_it wouldn't do any good. The mind web he is under would never allow him to believe me if I did. It is only by speaking to him under the web that it is my friend. That he is my Harry."_

"_what will you do then?"_

"_I will die. There is no other option left the older form of me inherited the web. Neither of them would be able to see through it. No amount of convincing will work unless they are given undeniable proof of the other's identity."_

"_what about the letters?"_

"_you don't understand anything! I will kill him if he was brought to me saying that he was my Harry. I would become the murderer of my own… just do as I say Hermione."_

"why did you do that?" Ron called out making Hermione snap out of the lost memory.

"Ron he just found out that his first friend and the person he loves is You-Know-Who. I saw it right then ,he was in pain he was bottling it up if he exploded his magic could have killed us all. I'll keep him like this until he can cope.

"there's some more pictures in here. You know I never thought about it before but Harry really does look like a girl. OH SHIT!"

"what is it?"

"it's a picture of Harry in the shower."

"that must have been what picture Harry said Colin was being punished for. Strange that he kept that picture even though he punished Collin for it."

"Hey there are unopened ones here You might want to look at them."

_Harry,_

_Please tell me you are safe there was blood on your last letter. What happened?_

_Tom_

"He seemed worried. This must have been from Harry's inheritance."

_Harry,_

_Please if you are even alive please write to me I am worried about you. _

_Tom_

"He wasn't worried, he was terrified of loosing Harry. I think Harry might have been Tom Riddle's only friend.

_Harry,_

_God damn you woman I love you please be all right. I haven't even been able to find you scrying. If this letter returns unopened as well I will give up but if you read it if you ever get it I love you Harry._

_With all my heart,_

_Tom_

"He didn't just care about Harry, he really loved him. Even if he thought Harry was a girl."

"well with the pictures he sent him it's no wonder. He looked like a bleeding girl as a kid. He really doesn't look like a man at all until he wears his school clothes and even then he's kind of girly. And what is with the picture with the hair. He had his towel wrapped like a girl too."

"I thought he might have thought something like that. I imagine that he thought he was a boy from his name and started thinking he was a girl after he saw Harry's picture."

"Did he ever send Harry pictures of him?"

"of coarse Harry keeps them all in his trunk why don't we take this box back with us and look everything over later."

* * *

><p>"You-Know-Who looked like that as a kid! Its no wonder Harry liked him."<p>

"Yes Tom Riddle is quite a handsome boy."

"oh mum would have a heart attack if she knew that she had made You-Know-Who a Weasley sweater."

"it is a strange thought." Hermione leafed through more of the pictures, stopping when she saw one that made her blush violently.

"wow…just wow. I didn't know you would have a picture like this Harry." Hermione looked over at the still sleeping boy.

"I am officially disturbed, both Harry and You- Know- Who had wank pictures of each other. " Hermione rolled her eyes at her red haired friend.

* * *

><p>Hermione rummaged through the room some more, performing a diagnostic spell on everything before she touched it. Knowing that Voldemort was Harry's Tom made her even more weary about the room than at the beginning. Looking through a desk in the corner she found a worn out little book.<p>

The book had many enchantments on it but even more seemed to now be dead. It seemed with the true death of the Dark Lord his curses had lifted. A great many of them had probably been tied to his very soul so that even if he was rendered without a body they would still be active.

Hermione read through Voldemort's diary and where it began was far from where it ended. The man had had a long and full life. But he never seemed to get over Harry and his supposed death.

_I am going to change this world no witch or wizard will suffer like she did. No one will meet her fate. Muggles cant be allowed to be involved anymore. Her uncle may count his lucky stars I couldn't find her. Because if I did then he would have taken her place. Harry my heart hurts for you. I am going to live, I'm going to live for both of us now. I'm going to make things better._

Tears stained this page of the diary. It seemed that Harry was one of his reasons for doing what he had but what she was curious about was that he didn't seem to want to kill muggles at that point only Harry's uncle. He wanted separation but not genocide.

_I did it, the diary that she gave me, the thing that my soul was poured into when my words could not reach her now does. I was going to ask her All those little whimsical ideas she spoke to me about fueled it. Before it was a horcrux it was a pensive with a few personality quirks of my own. When I poured my soul into it, it gained sentience. I've engineered it to be able to resurrect itself, to take magic and life-force from the one writing in it. Honestly I'm not even entirely sure what is left that could destroy it, acid, fire, water, physical harm, I covered all of them it seemed. But I still feel the pain. Why wont it leave me?_

_I met the man who sired me last night. First I met my mother's brother, a belligerent, stupid man. I saw his memories of how he treated my mother. I hated him for it that foul man both he and his father were as cruel to my mother as Harry's uncle was to her. Both of the women that matter to me met the same fate. They were abused and hated, my mother escaped but still she died. Harry couldn't escape. I wonder if she would have died as my mother had if she could have escaped, if she could have come to me. Would I have been as foul as my father and abandon her and a child of mine? I don't even know, I met him last night. I went to little Hangleton, to their manor. It was so different from the shack of my mother's family. I knocked on the door and his mother, my own grandmother answered it. She invited me inside and my father came down to meet me. He wasn't surprised or even angry to see me, like in my dreams. No he was indifferent he didn't care that I went through hell, he didn't care that I was his son. He just didn't care. That made it worse, I killed him. He struck me and I killed him, him and his parents. I blamed their death on Morfin, he can rot in Azkaban for what he did to my mother. But I took the ring, the lordship ring. _

_Their deaths made the ring. But still I feel it this pain from her passing it gnaws at my soul. I need to know why. Perhaps Slughorn. The old fool would know if anyone would it would be he. Even if he is the most gullible._

_Perhaps more is simply what I need. A more powerful number to ease this pain._

_I saw it. As I passed through Knockturn Alley I saw it. My mother's necklace. Slytherin's locket. I found it that would be perfect._

_I am most displeased. I gained a job with Borgin an Burke to aquire the locket only to find it's already been purchased by someone._

_I cant stay in Britain anymore Hezabeth Smith's death was too much for me it made me think of Harry's. at least the old woman died softly I know Harry wouldn't have had that luxury. I killed the old woman; she was in possession of my mother's locket the only thing I have to connect with the woman who gave me life, other than the blood that runs in my veins. I killed the old woman and her death became the locket but I don't regret it. I never regret it. But the pain is still there. I never regret and the pain never goes away, and I remember her. I wish remembering her didn't make the pain so terrible._

_I was thinking about my mother last night while I held that locket then I thought of Harry, my beautiful Harry if only I could have met her face to face at least once . I thought of her and how beautiful her children would have been had she lived to have any. I wish I had been brave enough to ask my friend to be mine while she was alive. I had even gotten the money for a ring for her. I had wanted to ask her after we graduated but that day never came. I even still have that damn bottle of wine we shared on my birthday till new years. It would have been enjoyable to see her face. It's pathetic of me really._

_I fell in love with someone I had never even met once. Love hurts like hell._

_Harry would have loved Albainia it's a beautiful place she would have loved to see the dragon reserves. I remember her letter about the adventure she had with the baby dragon. I can almost imagine what it would have been like to have her here with me. I can imagine her exploring the forests with me. She always seemed so strong in her letters. I always felt loved when I read them I wish she was still alive so if nothing else I might have that feeling again. I miss my friend, not even missing her as a lover I miss her as my friend most, she was the one I could tell all my secrets to. I have purchased a house here it suits me quite well sometime I can imagine what it would be like to have shared it with her. I imagine she would laugh at me. Dispite how she learned to cook she did enjoy it I on the other hand still remain very much against it. Even as I am living on my own._

_Abraxaus gives me these looks sometimes, he knows what I went through when I lost Harry. I think that he believes he is sympathetic. But I wont let him, after having my heart ripped open by losing her I wont let anyone that close again. Though I don't believe it would matter if I did or not. Since she died I have felt empty, like caring for her and worring for her had taken up part of my heart. It feels like they were cut out of me. Even without large portions of my soul I still feel them._

_My horcruxes are soon to be complete. Soon I wont feel her loss._

_That girl's murder to my diary, my grandparents and father to the ring, Hezabeth to the locket, a whore to the cup, a beggar to the diadem. My last should be something special something to house the last piece of my soul. I wish I had something of Harry's it would have been fitting, but all I have of her are faded photographs and worn letters. Not even memories to fall back on. After she died I tried many times to take a woman to bed with me but I found every time I felt guilt as if I were betraying her. I would imagine it was her and it would be her name I'd call, naturally I suppose this pissed off my bed partners. I stopped that nonsense long ago now. I'll be turning forty-one in two months time I really should have move on from her now._

Hermione almost felt sorry for the Dark Lord, he may have acted the part of the uncaring bastard but it seemed than in the beginning at least he didn't aim to destroy their world.

_Bellatrix is furious and cursing everything in sight right now, for twenty two year old she has no control of her emotions. But I will never blame her for that. She is in a blind fury over her baby sister Andromeda marrying a muggle man. Andromeda is pregnant and muggles are the reason Bella can never have a child. After being told of it she crucioed the man. Andromeda was never told of Bellatrix's past but I believe Bella views it as a betrayal. Now she is trying to torture Rudolfus Lestrange perhaps stunning her would be a good idea soon._

_This is getting out of hand don't they realize that defending the muggles will kill more wizards. Damn Dumbledore for forcing my hand, he would eradicate all dark wizards if he could then there would be no magic. The balance would be disrupted. He thinks muggles are like pets cute and harmless. The old fool never once realized what they would do to us. What they did to her._

_There was a prophecy made about one being able to destroy me, I cant let that happen I have a war to settle and a corrupt government left to uproot._

_It feels good to be able to write again. However disgusting my body is now I feel good to have one. The night I attacked the Potters was disastrous I killed the father and the mother begged but she wouldn't move I still feel guilty that she had to die it is an odd thing. I don't feel any guilt for her death itself but rather what her death reminded me of. I imagine my Harry would have done the same. My Harry, my first friend and only one I have ever loved. She had a beautiful mind and a big heart. God I miss her that hurt never went away it just became a old wound on my heart. Even with my soul split so far as it has I still feel that pain. I know now that it will never go away. Of coarse Dumbledore believes me not to have a heart but it doesn't matter he and Potter shall be taken care of soon enough. But damn if that boy doesn't remind me of Harry every time I see him they even share the same name. The fates are cruel if they really did bring back my Harry in this way. Maybe that's why he still lives because he looks so much like her that I hesitate every time. _

_When I first saw him as a baby I wondered if Harry and I had ever had children if he was what they would look like. Perhaps it is simply his coloring that I see her in. perhaps it is his name I don't care anymore I just want him to step out of the way. He doesn't even know what he fights for but still he fights I feel a pain in my heart when I think about it if it had been my Harry that was so manipulated that she would fight and never know why. I would kill the one who manipulated her so, I would plead like a dog for her to at least ask why she was fighting. But for all I know he has asked as was lied to or perhaps he asked and was told the truth and I've become too much of a monster. I don't even have enough of a soul left to be sent to heaven or hell. Once or twice when I was a spirit I thought of my Harry sitting in a heaven with snow white wings waiting for her Tom to come meet her. But I know that I will never meet that beautiful woman who sang to my soul with her letters as a child. _

_When I met the boy again his first year of Hogwarts I confronted him in front of that blasted mirror. When I looked into the mirror all I could see was Tom Riddle and Harry with children and even a grandchild, Tom Riddle dignified and handsome with grey streaked temples and Harry, my Harry alive and grown and so beautiful. There is a reason they say that mirror could drive men mad. I know that after my mission is complete there will be no place for me. Because my perfect world was lost fifty years ago._

_Apparently my horcrux met the boy in his second year I have no idea what might have transpired then but obviously it failed. That sliver of my soul doesn't even exist anymore I is gone and I still don't know how it could have been destroyed in a way that I could not call it back to this realm._

_I had no hand in his third year as I wasn't even in the same country. But that was the year wormtail came to me. After that the oaf nursed me to a physical form with a golem and revived me with a ritual. Which leaves me where I am now in a disgusting parody of being human. _

_I found a little while ago that Bellitrix tortured the Longbottom woman and her husband in my name but did not have the decency to end their lives. At the very least I have given the people I have taken the lives of a quick death to end their suffering. Azkaban has striped Bella of what sanity she clung to. Only these morons that make up my ranks and Potter have ever felt tortured by my wand. _

_Its my seventieth birthday. Damn I feel old. Old and worn out, this war has been going on so long now I almost forget sometimes what I'm fighting for. When I was young I never imagined this. I only thought of meeting Harry one day, of fixing our world. Hell back then I probably thought I would be a grandfather by now strange the things one thinks as a child and the things that come to pass. Times like this make me wonder what I would have done if she had lived. Would we have met? Would I have married her? Become a father? Or would she have found some man close to her to fill her life. Would she have gone on with her life and forgotten her dear friend Tom after escaping her childhood nightmare? God I am drunk right now._

_What would Harry think of me now? Now that so many have died in my attempts to get Dumbledore to see reason. We cant allow the muggles to know about us but the old fool forces them to see our wars my followers are getting more and more fanatical and brazen showing the muggles that we exist. It's like a boulder going down a hill now I don't think this will go on much longer. One way or another this war will end. I grow so weary of fighting, of the dead, of the screams, our cause is lost and my fighters are mad perhaps they have been all along and I was just too blind to see it. Harry forgive me, I couldn't save our world. I will die soon I know it now, no more souls to protect me, I will make one last stand. I will die on the grounds of the only place that was ever home to me. Perhaps I will meet you in the land of the dead. Even after all these years I still love you my Harry._

Hermione cried as she read the last entry of the Dark Lord's journal. Even till the end he was still in love with Harry and he never knew that his love and enemy were the same person. '_I will set this right and none will have died. Oh the Unspeakables will have a field day if they knew what I am about to do.'_ With that thought in mind she picked up a quill and parchment and began writing.

_Tom,_

_This is Hermione, _

_Harry is safe now. I'm sorry if you were worried but Hedwig was killed. This was Harry's godfather's owl his name is Cerino. Careful he bites. Harry's uncle did a lot of damage but Harry is safe and well now. Please send him a letter, something, anything will do. Harry's in a really bad depression right now and needs a friend. Me and Ron can only do so much. I know that you are Harry's best friend. After all how could you not be as long as the two of you have been in contact? Just contact Harry and say that you are still there._

_Hermione._

As she finished her writing she hoped that whatever magic had been involved to allow Harry to write Tom was still in effect. With that hope in mind she called to her owl, Cerino to deliver the letter to Tom.

"Cerino please deliver this letter to Harry's pen pal Tom." Her owl looked at her sternly before he tipped his head in a nod. With that Cerino flew out the window in a flurry of feathers. She stood and went to talk to Harry about her plan.

* * *

><p>Even though one who is in a spelled sleep isn't supposed to dream, Harry did.<p>

"Tom." Harry snuggled into his friend's arms.

"Shush now Harry. Everything will be alright."

"How? I… I… I killed you."

"I told you to remember? I told you to never let anyone do that to you. Even if it's me."

"But…"

"shh, don't fret I will always protect you my Harry. Even from myself. I knew I was going to die. But it was for you."

"Please don't leave me Tom. Not you too. I don't want to be alone again."

"I'm right here."

"I don't want you to go away. I don't want you to be dead."

"I'm right here just like I've always been."

Harry awoke at Hogwarts but the cold shroud never lifted from his mind. He had murdered his best friend.

He wandered down the halls until he came to a room. It was the room that held the dark lord's body. When they had gathered the dead they had layed the death eaters' in a room separate from their own dead. But Voldemort, Tom's body was separated even from them. A stasis charm had been cast on all the dead to keep them from decaying until they could be buried.

"Tom." Harry raised his hand to the dark lord's cheek, it was cold with death but his skin was soft. Harry was surprised at its softness.

"we should have seen who we were a long time ago shouldn't we?"

"I miss you Tom, I miss you so much it hurts. I love you, you know. I never told you that I loved you. I was too worried that you would hate me for a boy daring to love you." Harry's tears began to fall once more.

"I thought it would be better if I didn't tell you. I didn't want to lose my best friend.

"I made you become this, I just wanted to keep them from finding you but it was my fault all along.

* * *

><p>Hermione walked to Harry's room softly padding her way down the hall.<p>

"Harry." She knocked carefully on the door frame. Harry looked up at her, the grief in his eyes was overwhelming. His bright green eyes were dulled and there was a light that was missing from them, a spark that belonged to those that lived. But that spark was gone and in its place a bottomless pitt of sadness stared back at her

"I killed him Hermione, I killed my best friend in the whole world, and I couldn't even see that it was him.

"Harry, you may have killed his body but Tom Riddle committed suicide. He let himself die so his best friend would keep living. Harry I know this will hurt but I want you to remember each time we destroyed a horcrux. I want you to put those memories in here." Hermione pulled a shrunken pensive out of her pocket. "I want us to watch them together, you need to face this Harry. You never felt them through the block, its not healthy to bottle them up inside.

They watched the memories together.

Hermione saw an eleven year old Harry staring almost longingly into a great mirror as an equally young Tom Riddle stared back smirking while holding Harry's reflection in a protective hug. Hermione felt a tear roll down her face, even at eleven years old Harry had loved the dark lord in a way.

The next memory played was again in front of the mirror. It was the first confrontation with Voldemort. Quarill demanded Harry to look into the mirror, Hermione saw it its surface Tom smirking as he tossed the stone up and down in his hand. Harry's reflection hugged him and in Harry's ear he whispered something.

Hermione read his lips '_I will always protect you.'_ And he slipped the stone into Harry's pocket.

Quarill called his lie and lunged at him. Hermione watched as her once teacher burned alive from the touch of Harry's skin. That was the moment that Harry had seen death and realized it. That moment was the very reason a thirteen year old boy could see Thestrals.

They saw the sixteen year old form of Tom Riddle standing five paces away from Harry. Cold realization was lit in his dark eyes.

'_Tom had beautiful eyes.' _Harry found himself thinking sadly.

He watched his twelve year old self look down at the black book he now knew that he had been the one to give. He saw the panicked look cross Tom's face as he screamed to him. Inky tears rolled down his friend's face as he tried to scream but no sound came.

Next came the destruction of the locket, Harry watched Ron kill part of his friend's soul. He couldn't make a sound as he watched his friend die piece by piece, his voice was trapped inside his throat with a tight lump.

Then they watched as the diadem seemed to through itself into the flames behind it. It was an unnatural motion for a simple object but for something that was alive it was a sad thing. It knew what was needed it like all the other horcruxes realized who Harry was and it knew that it was either Harry or Voldemort. After all Tom Riddle had been a genius and he valued his Harry's life more than his own quest for immortality. Voldemort's own soul chose mortality for the one person he loved.

Hermione looked at Harry whose face was set neutrally and even his normally expressive eyes were lifeless.

Hermione watched the last memory of the horcrux that had shared Harry's life. She watched Harry caring for it even when Dumbledore told him to leave it. Hermione felt anger towards her former headmaster. He had known all along who Harry's friend as she was sure of it. Dumbledore had led Harry to his death so that he could kill his own best friend.

In her righteous fury she watched Harry lean over the memory of Voldemort's sliver of a soul, he tried to hold the now childlike fragment only to have his arms slip right through it's tiny body. Tears now poured down Harry's face in unending streams. He slouched brokenly as the fragment gave it's innocent baby grin to his memory self.

'_oh Harry.'_

Then it gave Harry it's dying gift. She saw why Harry could still speak parsletounge now, it had knew it was going to die, Harry had healed it's suffering and it had gave him their special gift. It had filled the hole it would leave in Harry's own soul with that gift. It had fixed it like stitches holding him together.

* * *

><p>by the end of the week all the funerals were set, all but one.<p>

Harry was the only one who dared give the dark lord a final resting place.

Harry knew only one place other than Hogwarts that Tom had loved. Harry travled to the cave that had once held a horcrux in it. He vanished the bodies of the dead and cleared the air of their scent. After hours of wand work the waters were sparkling clear even in the cave's dim light. He had cast a charm to the cave's celing so that the stars would always watch over his friend. Then a stone bridge with curling silver railings formed to greet the isle in the center of the cave.

In the end, where the basin of the horcrux had once stood was now a marble casket holding the dark lord's body forever more.

Harry set seven eternal flames into the waters of the cave, lighting the waters with their soft blue glow. It was beautiful and Tom deserved it.

Written in bold spidery script on the cover stone were the words:

_Tom Marvolo Riddle_

_December 31, 1929- May 2, 1998_

_A friend,_

_A genius,_

_A madman,_

_Those who say you never knew love, never knew you at all._

Harry kneeled with his head resting on the tomb.

"Have a good rest Tom. I'll see you again some day soon."

END.


	3. Harry returns for Tom

Harry realizes and comes back for Tom

Pairing Harry/Tom

Harry 17 Tom 16

* * *

><p>YEAR 7<p>

Harry could only stare at the blank parchment in front of him, he knew what he had to do, he had to. There was no other way, he wouldn't let anyone hurt Tom.

As he handed the saddening letter off to Hedwig a splitting pain and a sickening crunch were the only sensations that met him before the lights went out.

_I'm sorry Tom,_

_I'm not going to be able to write you much longer._

_Good bye my friend._

_Harry_

Tom felt his eyes begin to burn and sting as he read over and over that short letter. There was a splash of rust tinted brown on the parchment-it was blood, dried blood, Harry's blood.

* * *

><p>"I've noticed that you stopped writing Tom. Why is that?"<p>

"I don't want any one to follow my letters and get to him. I don't want to put him in any danger."

"Harry you know he might already be in danger just by having written to you all these years."

"I know that's why I never told him my surname, and why I never asked for his. At first it was just because muggle mail can end up with anyone but then I got to the wizarding world and I realized that I couldn't write who I was or Tom might have gotten hurt. If our surnames were on any of those letters they could have found him."

"Did you tell him that you wouldn't be writing him?"

"No I didn't have time my uncle came I gave the letter to Hedwig before he could get her. Then the lights went out I think he had a bat. I guess you and Ron's portkey activated some time after that."

"why would your uncle have hit you with a bat?"

"its nothing."

"Harry that isn't nothing you were hurt really badly."

"please just leave it alone Hermione."

"did Tom know?"

"he's known me since I was a kid. He knows everything there is to know about me except who I am."

* * *

><p>Harry slept with Voldemort's locket around his neck. Hermione could only watch her friend.<p>

Harry was the only one that the locket didn't hurt. The only thing that changed when he wore it was he could no longer cast a patronus. When it was around Harry's neck it made it all the more clear that Voldemort was once human an angry and scared boy, but once human.

When Ron wore it he was always angry and irritable with migraines. When she wore it, it caused her headaches and she was a little more demanding and bossy.

She had come across Harry holding the locket open one night, a haunting, beautiful melody played from it. Tom Riddle was singing, he wasn't enraged or causing Harry any pain at all. He was simply singing to him.

Harry didn't seem to be completely aware at all, but he wasn't being possessed or in pain. But his eyes were clouded and tears rolled from his eyes. He was disconnected from reality it seemed as if he was trapt inside of his own mind and something of unbelievable sadness dwelled there.

Hermione looked at the portrait of Tom Riddle over Harry's shoulder. She had only seen a picture of Harry's friend Tom when they were younger but Tom Marvolo Riddle looked remarkably similar.

If her suspicions were right then it would break Harry's heart when he realized.

* * *

><p>"<strong>leave them alone!"<strong>

Voldemort looked at the twenty foot long basilisk before him. Normally he would not be such a fool as to gaze upon a basilisk that considered him to be the enemy but something about this one struck a cord in him- she was white.

She was a pearly white flecked with gold. Her blind clouded pink eyes gazed at him harshly.

"**What is your name?"**

"**a speaker? Who are you?"**

"**I asked first lady basilisk."**

"**Lyra, Mum named me Lyra."**

"**Harry's basilisk?" ** Voldemort's gaze softened and he looked at the iridescent serpent stunned. Of all the places to meet his beloved's strange creature this was not one of the ones he had ever expected.

"**Who are you then? Speak Speaker."**

"**I am Lord Voldemort. You would know me by the name Tom."**

"**Mum's mate that isn't a mate?"** Lyra looked at him as if trying to determine the truth of his words.

"**Harry is not coming back. "**

"**That's not true Mum is coming back. I was told to keep the little humans from harm. Mum will come back after I keep them safe." **Voldemort couldn't help but sympathize with the basilisk. She was a remnant from a life he wished he could forget.

"**Harry is dead. She has been for a long time now."**

"**No! That's not right Mum promised. Mum's not dead." **

"**I am afraid she cant keep her promise. She promised a great deal many things that were taken from her."**

"**No, I saw him, I saw Mum this morning. He told me to protect the little humans." **A death eater tried to take advantage of his lord's distracting the great snake only for a pearly blur to strike at him, her venom was more potent than even Slytherin's basilisk's had been. Her killing gaze was taken from her but magic had made her deadly. Harry's magic had given her protection.

"**I know of the one you speak of. He tricked you Lyra. He is not the one who hatched you all those years ago he looks like her but he is not Harry. He is not mine nor yours."**

* * *

><p>"Who was she? That woman you loved?" Harry asked the dark lord simply, remembering the words from the diary. Tom Riddle had loved someone once, he loved her to the very depths of his black heart and he had lost her.<p>

"I will tell you nothing, Potter." Voldemort growled but there was a hurt held deep in his eyes. His Harry was still precious to him his memory of her was all that he had left, he would never give her away. Death had already taken her from him, faded photographs and gleaming memories were all that remained of her.

"I guess Dumbledore was right there really isn't anything human left in you." Harry shook his head solemnly. He knew what he had to do but it hurt, it hurt a lot more than he thought it would to say those words. After all even Tom Riddle deserved a chance.

"AVADA KADAVERA!" the blinding spell that was as green as his own eyes blasted towards him and then he knew no more.

Harry Potter, The Boy Who Lived- was dead.

* * *

><p>"You can't help it Harry."<p>

"But professor."

"it is a tattered shard of Voldemort's own soul. It is beyond help now."

"I feel compelled to take care of it sir." Harry held the pitiful creature in his arms, he took off his own cloak and wrapped it around the thing's tiny body.

The thing's breathing evened out: as though it was no long fighting to do so. Harry held it close so it would stop shuddering. And it did. He hummed to it and it settled peacefully as if it were a babe. The scars and abrasions marring its tiny body healed as he hummed.

"You reminded me of my friend Tom when you were a boy. He's so clever you know. You were too. I wish I knew what could have made someone so much like him become what you did." Harry looked down at the creature in his arms only to find it was a creature no longer. It now had the form of a young toddler with neat dark hair and a soft baby face. The only thing of the creature it had been that remained were its crimson eyes but they were now bright and unclouded just like a babe's. the little thing raised a tiny arm up and put its hand to his scar. A toothless baby grin formed on its face. Harry held it close and raised his own hand to his scar only to find it was there no longer.

"Harry you must go back now."

"Will you look after him?" Dumbledore smiled but it didn't quite reach his eyes.

"I should have known your capacity for love knew no bounds."

"I guess so."

* * *

><p>"Our Harry was the one who sent us here. It's time to move on."<p>

"Harry. My Harry? She's here?"

"Potter was our Harry."

"NO! You lie!"

"why would I lie to myself? We are all dead here. Harry never even knew we were his best friend. The old fool's meddling saw to that."

"if he hadn't we might not have needed to fight. As it was you had the web over you too. The fool poisoned ours and Harry's mind so we could kill each other."

"It was us or Harry."

"we couldn't let that happen, it had to be us."

"Harry was alive all this time. I tried to kill him."

"we fucked up."

"is he safe?"

"as safe as Harry can ever be. You know he attracts trouble"

"he always has, even when it wasn't our fault."

"I think it's time."

"we cant all go. We have to go together but only one can go on."

"then I believe it is time for us to become whole again."

The horcrux pieces all came over to the kneeling man and one by one they put their hands on his shoulders. First his seventeen year old self, then nineteen, and twenty one, then his forty four year old self. Finally all that remained was the childlike aspect that had been nestled in Harry's own soul.

The man who had been Lord Voldemort still kneeled his spirit form quivering, his soul was almost whole, it hadn't been that way in a long time. He hadn't felt what it was like to be whole in ages, he had spent more of his life broken than he had whole. For fifty five years he had been broken and now he was going to be as complete as it could be.

The childlike sliver of his soul smiled.

"hawwy still woves us." With that the small aspect hugged him and disappeared as well. he was near whole and Harry was alive but he wasn't his to have, not anymore. The dead could not keep the living.

* * *

><p>The war had only been over for a few hours. The injured were being healed and the dead were being collected. A few had wanted to parade the dark lord's corpse through the streets of the alleys. Harry forbade them from doing so. They weren't going to be like the ones that they had defeated. They would respect the dead.<p>

* * *

><p><em>Mr. Harry Potter,<em>

_At the defeat of He-Who-Must-No- Be-Named several manors that were not previously documented appeared we would like you and your choice of team to analyze their contents._

_Sincerely_

_Seamus J. Dobody_

_Head of Ministry Public Relations_

"Here this is the list that was in the letter."

Harry looked at the list in Hermione's hand, there had to be at least twenty different properties on the list. From manor's to cottages and several in between.

"we'll go here first" he said pointing to one of them, it was a small house in Albania.

"Why there it's in the middle of no where. Why not Riddle manor?"

"he was in Albania for a long time. That's also where he hid when he was weak. We'll check that place out first. He wouldn't have left anything important in Riddle Manor he hated it there." Ron couldn't help but stare at Harry oddly. How could he possibly know all those things about Voldemort. And why was he so depressed lately. Yeah a lot of people had died but he was alive shouldn't he be happy about that?

"I guess we are supposed to explore and package up his stuff

"that seems to be the plan."

* * *

><p>"you know this place really doesn't look anything like I expected." Ron said looking around. He was right though none of them could have guessed that the house they were exploring belonged to the dark lord.<p>

The whole place was neat and orderly it didn't have many little trinkets on display but it did have a character to it. This wasn't just the place that the Dark Lord had hidden it was his home. But for some reason Harry felt the sadness, that had been in the back of his mind since the moment he fired the final curse, creeping back into his heart.

For some reason it bothered him that the man had lived alone.

Harry looked around the sitting room

Harry looked into one doorway to find that I led to a kitchen with warm stained wooden floors and cabinets.

It was small and simple. Tom would have found it adequate Harry mused, his friend hated cooking.

In the corner of the room he saw a liquor cabinet and wine rack. He examined it until he saw something. There was one bottle that was coated in dust, far more than the others It was a bottle of 1941 Merlot. Harry couldn't help himself from smiling at his own memory of the wine.

"what's wrong Harry?"

"nothing its just that Tom and I had a bottle of this once. Headwig was so pissed at us. We spent new years eve and the early hours of new years day drinking it. After we were both pretty tipsy Tom held on to it. He told me that the next time we drink it, it would be something important." Harry lifted the bottle up from its rack, dust had long settled on that bottle. It was thick and caked on but under it he found something. Under the ages of dust there had been a silken black ribbon tied around the bottle a ribbon with a ring tied in its grasp. It was a circlet of braided silver with two serpent heads clutching a small dimond in their fangs. Their eyes were emerald pinpricks

"what is it?"

"it's a ring it must have been for the girl he liked." Harry stated but for some reason or another he felt overwhelming happiness inside for the dark lord's interest but at the same time he felt the crushing sadness that it had never been accepted.

"Harry this is Voldemort we are talking about, that monster's never liked anyone but that bloody snake."

"no Ron. When I had Riddle's diary he talked about her. He was sad and missed her. She had been killed by a muggle. I think that he really loved her."

"Harry you know that explains an awful lot about him. From what you've told me he was a lonely child. I imagine that her death must have been hard for him if she was all he had. It might even have been his trigger for all of this. You can never know."

"so you're saying he shouldn't have had a friend?"

"no, I think that he would have turned out exactly the same if he never had a friend at all. The only difference is that he would never have known what it was to be happy."

"kind of like Tom. He cant cast a patronus at all. He doesn't have the happy memories for it. And his magic fights using the spell."

"oh go marry that arse already Harry I hate hearing about him."

Harry blushed brightly. "Moving on." He muttered with his face still beet red.

He tried to open a door on the back wall of the sitting room that sat to the left of a flight of stairs.

"Harry you shouldn't touch that!"

"it didn't do anything but its locked."

"Alohamora." Ron waved his wand at the door. Harry pulled again to find it still locked.

"**Open up." **Harry hissed frustrated as he tried to open the door again only this time he found that it did.

"Mate that was parseltounge, I thought that was gone with the scar?"

"so did I. but I will probably make things easier."

"How's that?"

"Its Voldemort's home Ronald. He took pride on being a parselmouth. Please use your common sense."

"so I guess you don't get to be normal after all then."

"I guess not." Harry said sourly, Tom wouldn't have said anything of the sort he would have been happy for him. But it seemed that that wouldn't happen any time soon. he had tried to contact Tom again with a new owl but all his letters had been returned unopened. The only thing he could hope for was that his friend hadn't gotten caught up in the war. But he couldn't stop thinking about his friend, it had nearly been a year since they spoke perhaps Tom had already moved on and decided that he wasn't worth the effort anymore.

But Harry's depressing thoughts were broken by the sight of the room he had just entered.

"Tom would have loved to see this." Harry muttered looking around the library that seemed to double as a study. It was furnished simply and beautifully. The same warm colored wood that decorated the kitchen composed the shelves and desk. Bookshelves filled with books towered from ceiling to floor and wrapped around the whole room.

"Hey were do you think those stairs go?" he asked as they stepped out from the library.

"I don't know but I have a feeling we are going to find out soon."

They climbed the stairs to find that they led down a narrow hall with only a couple of doors down it. Harry stepped towards the door at the end of the hall and jiggled the handle. Like with the library before he gave a simple hissed command and the door did as it was told.

"it was his room." Harry said softly.

"that's creepy mate. That, that evil git actually slept here. I mean did he even sleep?"

"He was still living Ron. He had to sleep and eat just like anyone else." Ron was getting more than a little creeped out by Harry's behavior. He kept sticking up for Voldemort., trying to make him seem human. Why would he do that? He should know better than anyone that he wasn't anything close to human.

The walls were all neutral colors while the curtains over the window were layered with a warm cream, black, and green.

The bed was large and comfortable looking, coated with a large black duvet.

For fleeting moment he thought of Tom

"Harry, what are these?"

"I don't know they look like letters and pictures ."

"Harry this was that picture of you when I got you to cross dress in our fifth year."

"'You mean Voldemort saw that!"

"no harry that's just it, the picture looks old now I think … I think Tom Riddle saw it." Hermione ventured carefully, she had suspected but they were so far apart. She had hoped that it was simply a resemblence. She had known that it would break her friend's heart if that idea had been true.

"Tom." Harry froze and his eyes seemed to glass over. All his memories of the other boy rushed through his mind, the haze over them had lifted. The room around them began to feel suffocating with his realization. All it had taken was that tiny push and the world around him came tumbling down.

"My friend Tom. He… he was Voldemort." The dark haired boy whispered it felt as though his soul was being drowned in a bucket of ice. His heart felt like it had shattered as thoroughly as sugar glass.

"I'm really sorry about this Harry but it's necessary."

"wha?"

"_Somnus_." With that Harry passed out.

Hermione looked at her now sleeping friend and a memory that she had never had flashed in her mind.

_They were in the forest, just the two of them and the locket. The locket stopped singing to Harry and Riddle looked up at her._

"_keep him safe."_

"_why would you want him safe."_

"_because he reminds me of someone." The portrait looked away from her._

"_you are Harry's best friend Tom aren't you?"_

"_I was once."_

"_then why don't you tell him?"_

"_it wouldn't do any good. The mind web he is under would never allow him to believe me if I did. It is only by speaking to him under the web that it is my friend. That he is my Harry."_

"_what will you do then?"_

"_I will die. There is no other option left the older form of me inherited the web. Neither of them would be able to see through it. No amount of convincing will work unless they are given undeniable proof of the other's identity."_

"_what about the letters?"_

"_you don't understand anything! I will kill him if he was brought to me saying that he was my Harry. I would become the murderer of my own… just do as I say Hermione."_

"why did you do that?" Ron called out making Hermione snap out of the lost memory.

"Ron he just found out that his first friend and the person he loves is You-Know-Who. I saw it right then ,he was in pain he was bottling it up if he exploded his magic could have killed us all. I'll keep him like this until he can cope.

"there's some more pictures in here. You know I never thought about it before but Harry really does look like a girl. OH SHIT!"

"what is it?"

"it's a picture of Harry in the shower."

"that must have been what picture Harry said Colin was being punished for. Strange that he kept that picture even though he punished Collin for it."

"hmm."

"what is it?"

"there's a strong glamore on it. The kind that is anchored to the object itself."

"oh Harry." Hermione looked at the unglamored photo in utter shock. She had never seen so many scars as laced her friend's back.

"Hey there are unopened ones here You might want to look at them."

_Harry,_

_Please tell me you are safe there was blood on your last letter. What happened?_

_Tom_

"He seemed worried. This must have been from Harry's inheritance before the portkey kicked in."

_Harry,_

_Please if you are even alive please write to me I am worried about you. _

_Tom_

"He wasn't worried, he was terrified of loosing Harry. I think Harry might have been Tom Riddle's only friend. no I know he was. Remember what Harry had said. Riddle loved someone and lost them.

_Harry,_

_God damn you woman I love you please be all right. I haven't even been able to find you scrying. If this letter returns unopened as well I will give up but if you read it if you ever get it I love you Harry._

_With all my heart,_

_Tom_

"He didn't just care about Harry, he really loved him. Even if he thought Harry was a girl."

"well with the pictures he sent him it's no wonder. He looked like a bleeding girl as a kid. He really doesn't look like a man at all until he wears his school clothes and even then he's kind of girly. And what is with the picture with the hair. He had his towel wrapped like a girl too."

"I thought he might have thought something like that. I imagine that he thought he was a boy from his name and started thinking he was a girl after he saw Harry's picture."

"Did he ever send Harry pictures of him?"

"of coarse Harry keeps them all in his trunk why don't we take this box back with us and look everything over later."

* * *

><p>"You-Know-Who looked like that as a kid! Its no wonder Harry liked him."<p>

"Yes Tom Riddle is quite a handsome boy. I thought that you would have seen pictures of him already didn't Harry ever show you?"

"no. I never cared what the git looked like."

"oh mum would have a heart attack if she knew that she had made You-Know-Who a Weasley sweater."

"it is a strange thought." Hermione leafed through more of the pictures, stopping when she saw one that made her blush violently.

"wow…just wow. I didn't know you would have a picture like this Harry." Hermione looked over at the still sleeping boy.

"I am officially disturbed, both Harry and You- Know- Who had wank pictures of each other. " Hermione rolled her eyes at her red haired friend.

* * *

><p>Hermione rummaged through the room some more later, performing a diagnostic spell on everything before she touched it. Knowing that Voldemort was Harry's Tom made her even more weary about the room than at the beginning. Looking through a desk in the corner she found a worn out little book.<p>

The book had many enchantments on it but even more seemed to now be dead. It seemed with the true death of the Dark Lord his curses had lifted. A great many of them had probably been tied to his very soul so that even if he was rendered without a body they would still be active.

Hermione read through Voldemort's diary and where it began was far from where it ended. The man had had a long and full life. But he never seemed to get over Harry and his supposed death.

_I am going to change this world no witch or wizard will suffer like she did. No one will meet her fate. Muggles cant be allowed to be involved anymore. Her uncle may count his lucky stars I couldn't find her. Because if I did then he would have taken her place. Harry my heart hurts for you. I am going to live, I'm going to live for both of us now. I'm going to make things better._

Tears stained this page of the diary. It seemed that Harry was one of his reasons for doing what he had but what she was curious about was that he didn't seem to want to kill muggles at that point only Harry's uncle. He wanted separation but not genocide.

_I did it, the diary that she gave me, the thing that my soul was poured into when my words could not reach her now does. I was going to ask her. All those little whimsical ideas she spoke to me about fueled it. Before it was a horcrux it was a pensive with a few personality quirks of my own. When I poured my soul into it, it gained sentience. I've engineered it to be able to resurrect itself, to take magic and life-force from the one writing in it. Honestly I'm not even entirely sure what is left that could destroy it, acid, fire, water, physical harm, I covered all of them it seemed. But I still feel the pain. Why wont it leave me?_

_I met the man who sired me last night. First I met my mother's brother, a belligerent, stupid man. I saw his memories of how he treated my mother. I hated him for it that foul man both he and his father were as cruel to my mother as Harry's uncle was to her. Both of the women that matter to me met the same fate. They were abused and hated, my mother escaped but still she died. Harry couldn't escape. I wonder if she would have died as my mother had if she could have escaped, if she could have come to me. Would I have been as foul as my father and abandon her and a child of mine? I don't even know, I met him last night. I went to little Hangleton, to their manor. It was so different from the shack of my mother's family, or even the cell I grew up in. I knocked on the door and his mother, my own grandmother answered it. She invited me inside and my father came down to meet me. He wasn't surprised or even angry to see me, like in my dreams. No he was indifferent he didn't care that I went through hell, he didn't care that I was his son. He just didn't care. That made it worse, I killed him. He struck me and I killed him, him and his parents. I blamed their death on Morfin, he can rot in Azkaban for what he did to my mother. But I took the ring, the lordship ring. _

_Their deaths made the ring. But still I feel it this pain from her passing it gnaws at my soul. I need to know why. Perhaps Slughorn. The old fool would know if anyone would it would be he. Even if he is the most gullible._

_Perhaps more is simply what I need. A more powerful number to ease this pain._

_I saw it. As I passed through Knockturn Alley I saw it. My mother's necklace. Slytherin's locket. I found it that would be perfect._

_I am most displeased. I gained a job with Borgin an Burke to aquire the locket only to find it's already been purchased by someone._

_I cant stay in Britain anymore Hezabeth Smith's death was too much for me it made me think of Harry's. at least the old woman died softly I know Harry wouldn't have had that luxury. I killed the old woman; she was in possession of my mother's locket the only thing I have to connect with the woman who gave me life, other than the blood that runs in my veins. I killed the old woman and her death became the locket but I don't regret it. I never regret it. But the pain is still there. I never regret and the pain never goes away, and I remember her. I wish remembering her didn't make the pain so terrible._

_I was thinking about my mother last night while I held that locket then I thought of Harry, my beautiful Harry if only I could have met her face to face at least once . I thought of her and how beautiful her children would have been had she lived to have any. I wish I had been brave enough to ask my friend to be mine while she was alive. I had even gotten the money for a ring for her. I had wanted to ask her after we graduated but that day never came. I even still have that damn bottle of wine we shared on my birthday till new years. It would have been enjoyable to see her face. It's pathetic of me really._

_I fell in love with someone I had never even met once. Love hurts like hell._

_Harry would have loved Albainia it's a beautiful place she would have loved to see the dragon reserves. I remember her letter about the adventure she had with the baby dragon. I can almost imagine what it would have been like to have her here with me. I can imagine her exploring the forests with me. She always seemed so strong in her letters. I always felt loved when I read them I wish she was still alive so if nothing else I might have that feeling again. I miss my friend, not even missing her as a lover I miss her as my friend most, she was the one I could tell all my secrets to. I have purchased a house here it suits me quite well sometime I can imagine what it would be like to have shared it with her. I imagine she would laugh at me. Dispite how she learned to cook she did enjoy it I on the other hand still remain very much against it. Even as I am living on my own._

_Abraxaus gives me these looks sometimes, he knows what I went through when I lost Harry. I think that he believes he is sympathetic. But I wont let him, after having my heart ripped open by losing her I wont let anyone that close again. Though I don't believe it would matter if I did or not. Since she died I have felt empty, like caring for her and worring for her had taken up part of my heart. It feels like they were cut out of me. Even without large portions of my soul I still feel them._

_My horcruxes are soon to be complete. Soon I wont feel her loss._

_That girl's murder to my diary, my grandparents and father to the ring, Hezabeth to the locket, a whore to the cup, a beggar to the diadem. My last should be something special something to house the last piece of my soul. I wish I had something of Harry's it would have been fitting, but all I have of her are faded photographs and worn letters. Not even memories to fall back on. After she died I tried many times to take a woman to bed with me but I found every time I felt guilt as if I were betraying her. I would imagine it was her and it would be her name I'd call, naturally I suppose this pissed off my bed partners. I stopped that nonsense long ago now. I'll be turning forty-one in two months time I really should have move on from her now._

Hermione almost felt sorry for the Dark Lord, he may have acted the part of the uncaring bastard but it seemed than in the beginning at least he didn't aim to destroy their world.

_Bellatrix is furious and cursing everything in sight right now, for twenty two year old she has no control of her emotions. But I will never blame her for that. She is in a blind fury over her baby sister Andromeda marrying a muggle man. Andromeda is pregnant and muggles are the reason Bella can never have a child. After being told of it she crucioed the man. Andromeda was never told of Bellatrix's past but I believe Bella views it as a betrayal. Now she is trying to torture Rudolfus Lestrange perhaps stunning her would be a good idea soon._

_This is getting out of hand don't they realize that defending the muggles will kill more wizards. Damn Dumbledore for forcing my hand, he would eradicate all dark wizards if he could then there would be no magic. The balance would be disrupted. He thinks muggles are like pets cute and harmless. The old fool never once realized what they would do to us. What they did to her._

_There was a prophecy made about one being able to destroy me, I cant let that happen I have a war to settle and a corrupt government left to uproot._

_It feels good to be able to write again. However disgusting my body is now I feel good to have one. The night I attacked the Potters was disastrous I killed the father and the mother begged but she wouldn't move I still feel guilty that she had to die it is an odd thing. I don't feel any guilt for her death itself but rather what her death reminded me of. I imagine my Harry would have done the same. My Harry, my first friend and only one I have ever loved. She had a beautiful mind and a big heart. God I miss her that hurt never went away it just became a old wound on my heart. Even with my soul split so far as it has I still feel that pain. I know now that it will never go away. Of coarse Dumbledore believes me not to have a heart but it doesn't matter he and Potter shall be taken care of soon enough. But damn if that boy doesn't remind me of Harry every time I see him they even share the same name. The fates are cruel if they really did bring back my Harry in this way. Maybe that's why he still lives because he looks so much like her that I hesitate every time. _

_When I first saw him as a baby I wondered if Harry and I had ever had children if he was what they would look like. Perhaps it is simply his coloring that I see her in. perhaps it is his name I don't care anymore I just want him to step out of the way. He doesn't even know what he fights for but still he fights I feel a pain in my heart when I think about it if it had been my Harry that was so manipulated that she would fight and never know why. I would kill the one who manipulated her so, I would plead like a dog for her to at least ask why she was fighting. But for all I know he has asked as was lied to or perhaps he asked and was told the truth and I've become too much of a monster. I don't even have enough of a soul left to be sent to heaven or hell. Once or twice when I was a spirit I thought of my Harry sitting in a heaven with snow white wings waiting for her Tom to come meet her. But I know that I will never meet that beautiful woman who sang to my soul with her letters as a child. _

_When I met the boy again his first year of Hogwarts I confronted him in front of that blasted mirror. When I looked into the mirror all I could see was Tom Riddle and Harry with children and even a grandchild, Tom Riddle dignified and handsome with grey streaked temples and Harry, my Harry alive and grown and so beautiful. There is a reason they say that mirror could drive men mad. I know that after my mission is complete there will be no place for me. Because my perfect world was lost fifty years ago._

_Apparently my horcrux met the boy in his second year I have no idea what might have transpired then but obviously it failed. That sliver of my soul doesn't even exist anymore I is gone and I still don't know how it could have been destroyed in a way that I could not call it back to this realm._

_I had no hand in his third year as I wasn't even in the same country. But that was the year wormtail came to me. After that the oaf nursed me to a physical form with a golem and revived me with a ritual. Which leaves me where I am now in a disgusting parody of being human. _

_I found a little while ago that Bellitrix tortured the Longbottom woman and her husband in my name but did not have the decency to end their lives. At the very least I have given the people I have taken the lives of a quick death to end their suffering. Azkaban has striped Bella of what sanity she clung to. Only these morons that make up my ranks and Potter have ever felt tortured by my wand. _

_Its my seventieth birthday. Damn I feel old. Old and worn out, this war has been going on so long now I almost forget sometimes what I'm fighting for. When I was young I never imagined this. I only thought of meeting Harry one day, of fixing our world. Hell back then I probably thought I would be a grandfather by now strange the things one thinks as a child and the things that come to pass. Times like this make me wonder what I would have done if she had lived. Would we have met? Would I have married her? Become a father? Or would she have found some man close to her to fill her life. Would she have gone on with her life and forgotten her dear friend Tom after escaping her childhood nightmare? God I am drunk right now._

_What would Harry think of me now? Now that so many have died in my attempts to get Dumbledore to see reason. We cant allow the muggles to know about us but the old fool forces them to see our wars my followers are getting more and more fanatical and brazen showing the muggles that we exist. It's like a boulder going down a hill now I don't think this will go on much longer. One way or another this war will end. I grow so weary of fighting, of the dead, of the screams, our cause is lost and my fighters are mad perhaps they have been all along and I was just too blind to see it. Harry forgive me, I couldn't save our world. I will die soon I know it now, no more souls to protect me, I will make one last stand. I will die on the grounds of the only place that was ever home to me. Perhaps I will meet you in the land of the dead. Even after all these years I still love you my Harry._

Hermione cried as she read the last entry of the Dark Lord's journal. Even till the end he was still in love with Harry and he never knew that his love and enemy were the same person. '_I will set this right and none will have died. Oh the Unspeakables will have a field day if they knew what I am about to do.'_ With that thought in mind she picked up a quill and parchment and began writing.

_Tom,_

_This is Hermione, _

_Harry is safe now. I'm sorry if you were worried but Hedwig was killed. This was Harry's godfather's owl his name is Cerino. Careful he bites. Harry's uncle did a lot of damage but Harry is safe and well now. Please send him a letter, something, anything will do. Harry's in a really bad depression right now and needs a friend. Me and Ron can only do so much. I know that you are Harry's best friend. After all how could you not be as long as the two of you have been in contact? Just contact Harry and say that you are still there._

_Hermione._

As she finished her writing she hoped that whatever magic had been involved to allow Harry to write Tom was still in effect. With that hope in mind she called to her owl, Cerino to deliver the letter to Tom.

"Cerino please deliver this letter to Harry's pen pal Tom." Her owl looked at her sternly before he tipped his head in a nod. With that Cerino flew out the window in a flurry of feathers. She stood and went to talk to Harry about her plan.

* * *

><p>Even though one who is in a spelled sleep isn't supposed to dream, Harry did.<p>

"Tom." Harry snuggled into his friend's arms.

"Shush now Harry. Everything will be alright."

"How? I… I… I killed you."

"I told you to remember? I told you to never let anyone do that to you. Even if it's me."

"But…"

"shh, don't fret I will always protect you my Harry. Even from myself. I knew I was going to die. But it was for you."

"Please don't leave me Tom. Not you too. I don't want to be alone again."

"I'm right here."

"I don't want you to go away. I don't want you to be dead."

"I'm right here just like I've always been."

Harry awoke at Hogwarts but the cold shroud never lifted from his mind. He had murdered his best friend.

He wandered down the halls until he came to a room. It was the room that held the dark lord's body. When they had gathered the dead they had layed the death eaters' in a room separate from their own dead. But Voldemort, Tom's body was separated even from them. A stasis charm had been cast on all the dead to keep them from decaying until they could be buried.

"Tom." Harry raised his hand to the dark lord's cheek, it was cold with death but his skin was soft. Harry was surprised at its softness.

"we should have seen who we were a long time ago shouldn't we?"

"I miss you Tom, I miss you so much it hurts. I love you, you know. I never told you that I loved you. I was too worried that you would hate me for a boy daring to love you." Harry's tears began to fall once more.

"I thought it would be better if I didn't tell you. I didn't want to lose my best friend.

"I made you become this, I just wanted to keep them from finding you but it was my fault all along.

* * *

><p>Hermione walked to Harry's room softly padding her way down the hall.<p>

"Harry." She knocked carefully on the door frame. Harry looked up at her, the grief in his eyes was overwhelming. His bright green eyes were dulled and there was a light that was missing from them, a spark that belonged to those that lived. But that spark was gone and in its place a bottomless pitt of sadness stared back at her

"I killed him Hermione, I killed my best friend in the whole world, and I couldn't even see that it was him.

"Harry, you may have killed his body but Tom Riddle committed suicide. He let himself die so his best friend would keep living. Harry I know this will hurt but I want you to remember each time we destroyed a horcrux. I want you to put those memories in here." Hermione pulled a shrunken pensive out of her pocket. "I want us to watch them together, you need to face this Harry. You never felt them through the block, its not healthy to bottle them up inside.

* * *

><p>They watched the memories together.<p>

Hermione saw an eleven year old Harry staring almost longingly into a great mirror as an equally young Tom Riddle stared back smirking while holding Harry's reflection in a protective hug. Hermione felt a tear roll down her face, even at eleven years old Harry had loved the dark lord in a way.

The next memory played was again in front of the mirror. It was the first confrontation with Voldemort. Quarill demanded Harry to look into the mirror, Hermione saw it its surface Tom smirking as he tossed the stone up and down in his hand. Harry's reflection hugged him and in Harry's ear he whispered something.

Hermione read his lips '_I will always protect you.'_ And he slipped the stone into Harry's pocket.

Quarill called his lie and lunged at him. Hermione watched as her once teacher burned alive from the touch of Harry's skin. That was the moment that Harry had seen death and realized it. That moment was the very reason a thirteen year old boy could see Thestrals.

They saw the sixteen year old form of Tom Riddle standing five paces away from Harry. Cold realization was lit in his dark eyes.

'_Tom had beautiful eyes.' _Harry found himself thinking sadly.

He watched his twelve year old self look down at the black book he now knew that he had been the one to give. He saw the panicked look cross Tom's face as he screamed to him. Inky tears rolled down his friend's face as he tried to scream but no sound came.

Next came the destruction of the locket, Harry watched Ron kill part of his friend's soul. He couldn't make a sound as he watched his friend die piece by piece, his voice was trapped inside his throat with a tight lump.

Then they watched as the diadem seemed to through itself into the flames behind it. It was an unnatural motion for a simple object but for something that was alive it was a sad thing. It knew what was needed it like all the other horcruxes realized who Harry was and it knew that it was either Harry or Voldemort. After all Tom Riddle had been a genius and he valued his Harry's life more than his own quest for immortality. Voldemort's own soul chose mortality for the one person he loved.

Hermione looked at Harry whose face was set neutrally and even his normally expressive eyes were lifeless.

Hermione watched the last memory of the horcrux that had shared Harry's life. She watched Harry caring for it even when Dumbledore told him to leave it. Hermione felt anger towards her former headmaster. He had known all along who Harry's friend as she was sure of it. Dumbledore had led Harry to his death so that he could kill his own best friend.

In her righteous fury she watched Harry lean over the memory of Voldemort's sliver of a soul, he tried to hold the now childlike fragment only to have his arms slip right through it's tiny body. Tears now poured down Harry's face in unending streams. He slouched brokenly as the fragment gave it's innocent baby grin to his memory self.

'_oh Harry.'_

Then it gave Harry it's dying gift. She saw why Harry could still speak parsletounge now, it had knew it was going to die, Harry had healed it's suffering and it had gave him their special gift. It had filled the hole it would leave in Harry's own soul with that gift. It had fixed it like stitches holding him together.

* * *

><p>by the end of the week all the funerals were set, all but one.<p>

Harry was the only one who dared give the dark lord a final resting place.

Harry knew only one place other than Hogwarts that Tom had loved. Harry travled to the cave that had once held a horcrux in it. He vanished the bodies of the dead and cleared the air of their scent. After hours of wand work the waters were sparkling clear even in the cave's dim light. He had cast a charm to the cave's celing so that the stars would always watch over his friend. Then a stone bridge with curling silver railings formed to greet the isle in the center of the cave.

In the end, where the basin of the horcrux had once stood was now a marble casket holding the dark lord's body forever more.

Harry set seven eternal flames into the waters of the cave, lighting the waters with their soft blue glow. It was beautiful and Tom deserved it.

Written in bold spidery script on the cover stone were the words:

_Tom Marvolo Riddle_

_December 31, 1929- May 2, 1998_

_A friend,_

_A genius,_

_A madman,_

_Those who say you never knew love, never knew you at all._

Harry kneeled with his head resting on the tomb.

"Have a good rest Tom. I'll see you again some day soon."

* * *

><p>"Mr. Potter."<p>

"Yes?"

"As a representative of the DMLE I would like to extend the offer of becoming an Auror."

"I'm sorry sir, but I have seen enough war. I don't want to spend the rest of my life in it."

"Mr. Potter I'm afraid that refusal is not an option. It is for the public relations that you must do this you give the people hope. After all you vanquished He-Who-Must-Not- Be- Named."

A chill ran down Harry's spine at the cold careless reminder that he had taken the life of his best friend.

"fine I'll do it." A smile spread across the ministry representative's face before he turned and left.

After they departed Harry picked himself up and started towards the library he would find a way to fix what had been done.

weeks roll on and Harry searches for an answer to fix what had happened. He powered through his depressed state until he finally found his answer at the bottom of his trunk.

Harry, like he knew Tom had, had a terrible habbit of keeping things from his adventures. Trophies one could say but no one would ever know what they really were unless they were there.

A worn crown from the head of a giant chess piece, a foot long fang and a broken diary, a life like dragon figureen, a box full of WWW products, a snitch, a map, and there in the furthest corner of his trunk was a little golden chain.

* * *

><p>Tom started towards Harry, his wound was nearly healed now. How could he have been so foolish. How could it be possible? No magic was stable enough to travel that spanse of time.<p>

Tom stopped for a moment. No magic was stable enough, children's magic wasn't stable at all. He studied Harry for a moment, it seemed his eyes were coming back into focus. But there was nothing in them but fear, there was no spark of recognition at all. Was he wrong? Was he still clinging to the idea that she still lived so drastically that he was willing to see her in his enemy?

No that's not right there were far to many similarities, too many coincidences. No Tom wasn't wrong at all he knew he wasn't. Harry Potter was _his _Harry.

But how could he not recognize him? Harry was twelve now, Abraxaus had sent pictures of him when they were that young. It should be glaringly obvious he didn't change that much from twelve to sixteen. He should be able to recognize him. He had been the one to gift his diary to him if not himself then that at the very least. Why didn't he realize? Why? Why couldn't he?

In his turmoil he was five steps from Harry. He looked down at the boy, someone he had fallen in love with. Harry's eyes were clear and focused now, Tom followed his gaze to its rest on his diary.

As the young boy picked up the fang that had been in his arm, a single dove grey spell shot towards him. Then both the phoenix and the boy fell into a deep sleep.

Tom whirled around to see another boy, of possibly sixteen with slight traces of a feminine figure beneath his robes. His hair was long and black as a raven's wing while his eyes were acid green.

"Harry?"

"yeah."

"but how?" Tom looked between the young form of the boy and the elder in complete confusion.

"supped up time turner. I have fifteen minutes to be here before I get sent back to my time."

"Harry please explain what is happening. Why couldn't he recognize me?"

"there was a mind web over our memories. But I will explain everything later I don't have time right now. I need you to break your connection to Ginny if you don't you really will die."

"What! No I don't want to go back to the book."

"Tom Marvollo Riddle if you don't pay attention and do what I say you will die because I will have killed you. don't you dare make me do that. Don't you dare leave me again."

"do you have a plan then?"

"yes but first break your connection to Ginny."

"done."

"alright." Harry walked over to his younger self and picked up the diary before slipping into it a page of runes and a large crystal. He looked up at Tom whose form was solidifying.

"I'm alive again." He stated bluntly. Harry had the urge to laugh at his friend.

"Good." Harry leaned over his younger self and began planting the memory of the Diary's destruction. He lifted the basilisk fang that had previously been in his younger selves hand and ran it straight through the center of the book. Out the corner of his eye he saw Tom flinch at the action but he was otherwise okay.

Then Harry began to feel the time turner around his neck throb against his skin his time was almost up.

"Tom come here quickly." The young dark lord was at his side in a moment, Harry wrapped the chain of the time turner around both of their necks. They were standing chest to chest and Harry found himself quickly becoming annoyed at how much shorter than Tom he was. The height difference made it difficult to get the chain around the two of them but Tom seemed to take pity and picked him up.

The second the clasp was latched Harry felt the two of them lurch like a portkey was used. When he opened his eyes again he found himself and Tom on the ruins of Hogwarts' grounds.

The chared ruins of the once beautiful castle were the last thing that his eyes saw before the world went dark.

* * *

><p>"That fool I told him not to do it."<p>

"what did he do?" Tom asked the bushy haired girl sternly.

"he just powered a time turner with his own magic to make it go beyond what it was ever meant to."

"HE DID WHAT!" Tom turned to the girl shocked.

"and you let him." He said through gritted teeth.

"no I did not. I told him not to do it but convincing Harry not to do something, especially saving someone, is like telling a phoenix not to be reborn. You of all people should know that. And he would walk through fire for you."

* * *

><p>"who are you?"<p>

"Tom Riddle, Harry's friend."

* * *

><p>"you are awake." Tom smiled softly at his friend. Harry looked yp at Tom scowling. He raised his hand to Tom's face only to flick him in the forehead.<p>

"I'm so mad at you right now."

"why?"

"you thought I was a woman!"

"yes, but quite obviously I realize that I was mistaken."

"are you completely daft Harry? He's Tom Riddle he possessed me!" Ron shouted gaining the attention of the two boys sitting on the hospital bed.

"to my misfortune."

"hush Tom."

"its not like I wanted to listen to a whiny eleven year old obsess over _my_ friend."

"He's not yours!"

"are you sure about that?"

"Tom. Stop instigating. She isn't doing anything wrong."

"other than being an obsessive stalker. She only got worse would you like to know what she thought about you?"

"she's not a stalker… just…umm." Harry paused as he couldn't think of a word that would describe Ginny.

"you were saying?" Tom smirked.

"don't think your so clever." Harry grumbled. Tom smirked and held his friend close and rested his chin on Harry's head. After everything that had happened he was not going to let Harry go any time soon.

"I know I'm clever, my friend. I don't need to think that I am."

"You. UGH!" Ginny screamed glaring at Tom. While Tom himself resisted the urge to petulantly stick out his tongue like a child.

* * *

><p>"I have something for you."<p>

"what would that be?"

"well they are yours to start with but…"

"Harry."

"see."

"Harry where did you get all of these? Most of them are priceless, some of them are likely to be the only ones of there kind. They are wonderful my friend."

"I told you they were yours. When the older you died several manors became visible to the ministry and they sent me to look at them. I claimed everything that I could most of it is in my vault now

* * *

><p>"Harry where are we?"<p>

"welcome to Hogwarts Tom."

"what happened?"

"war happened. Wizards were killing each other.

"they were destroyed in my world Tom, Voldemort was destroying the world and …."

"this was not supposed to happen. None of this. All that I had wanted was a world you wouldn't have been hurt in. I didn't want to see your death in any muggle slain child."

"Hermione has all of his notes and journals."

"I would like to see them."

"alright.

* * *

><p>"you don't understand anything. I just found that the one person in the whole of the world that I care about, I find that he is the one that killed me."<p>

"he didn't kill you he killed Voldemort."

"we are the same."

"then look at it from Harry's eyes, you're angry that he killed 'you'. Well he was beyond depressed when he found out that his Tom and Voldemort were the same person. I tried to send you a letter in hopes that you would get it and respond and to keep him from slowly killing himself. He has loved you since before I even knew him. You have been his friend in ways that Ron and I could never be."

* * *

><p>"Hi Tom!" Harry propelled himself haphazardly toward his best friend from the chair he had been in.<p>

"are you drunk?"

"'m not drunk. Jus' tipsy." Harry buried his face into Tom's shirt. "You smell good Tom."

"Harry."

"you're my bestest friend ever Tom. I didn't want anyone to die. I didn't mean to kill you. Don't leave me alone again. Being alone hurt."

"shh now my friend. I am here as I always have been. You are mine and I am yours. "

"you have such beautiful eyes Tom. Did you know that? Pretty dark blue like the ocean. I love you." Tom's heart stopped for a moment. Harry's drunkenness seemed to remove any verbal restraint that he normally had.

"I believe that you should sleep this off now Harry."

"mkay can you sleep with me?"

Tom's heart sped up at the notion of being allowed so close to his friend.

"alright.

* * *

><p>"I made you do all those things."<p>

"Harry look at me."

"you have never caused me to do anything what I do is of my own choice the ideas you gave me I would have likely found on my own anyway."

"but I told you about the chamber, and I gave you the books on dark magic, and I gave you Nagani. How could it have not been my fault?"

"harry I have researched many things and in that I have found something. One glaring truth of magic, you cant change time. No one can. To change time is to change the world you live in. what we did was something else entirely. Here let me show you." with that Tom drew out a piece of parchment and a quill. "This" he drew a straight line.

"This is what our lives used to be from the moment we were born to the moment we died. This is our ordained path. Prophets see wisps of the ordained path but never the full details else they would go mad. "

"Now this." He drew another line slanting from a little ways up the first. "this is when I sent you the first letter. My magic needed someone and it called through all of existence to find someone else, yours answered."

"but if that letter changed everything then how did you still become Voldemort?"

"your magic is born inside you already knowing your ordained path. Everything you gave to me that could have been a tool for the Dark Lord you were drawn to because Lord Voldemort of the original path already had them and that was imprinted in your soul. The way in which he got them would have been completely different but the fact would remain that he had them."

"so your saying that the prophesy was right that I was born to kill you."

"it is a likely scenario. But from what you have told me of it I would think that it has been fulfilled. Lord Voldemort is indeed dead."

"But how Tom? How? You are right here with me."

"Because until you came back to get me my soul was gone from this timeline altogether. It didn't exist anymore until you brought me back here. Lord Voldemort's horcruxes all gave their lives for you and you took his life. None of them can anchor to me, they have already moved on. I'm just a sixteen year old with half a soul now."

* * *

><p>"<p>

"I cant believe you are with him."

"what are you talking about Ron?"

"I know all about you liking him like that and everything."

"how could you know that? I never told anyone. Hermione guessed. Did she tell you?"

"no it was in all those letters you wrote him. Don't you see I was right all along he is evil and he is a slimy snake, wake up Harry your best friend became You-Know-Who! He possessed my sister!"

"He didn't want to. He just wanted out of the book. He made a mistake."

"So your taking his side then, maybe you were just a death eater all along"

"You should leave now." Harry glowered at the red haired boy

"What for?"

"You read my letters, you insulted my friend, you are offended with who I like. Take your pick Ron just go."

"How can you be so blind? You brought back You-Know-Who. How can you just do that and expect everyone to be okay with it. You are no better than a death eater!"

Unshed tears began to burn in Harry's eyes. He had thought that his friends would understand but apparently he was wrong. With that he left Ron standing there fuming.

Tom glided down the staircase to the angry red haired boy that had just upset his friend.

"I don't like you."

"yeah well the feeling is mutual."

"I would say you forget who you are speaking to but as you have so bluntly pointed out to my friend who I am then that is obviously not the case."

"Your nothing but a kid. You are even younger than I am."

"I have been capable of cursing others under the nose of Albus Dumbledore since I was eleven I highly doubt you matter in any regard."

"…"

"Or have you forgotten that at least once a year Harry has had to beg me sweetly on your behalf to uncurse you for your own foolishness. Now you have gone and upset him I wonder whose side he would take now that you have become so careless. After all I have known him much longer than you. He trusts me more than you could ever be."

"That's not true!"

"I'm afraid it is. I was here first. And I have never once abandoned Harry for some silly whim. There is no comparison between us."

"oh yeah what about when I tell Harry about those letters he never got. Do you think he would stick around with an evil git like you if he knew that you liked him like that. No I bet he would drop you and run."

"yet again Ronald you are very wrong."

"I'll do it!"

"you are far more of a child than I then."

"you think you are so clever hiding who you are from Harry cause you know he would leave you all alone. That's what your afraid of."

"you really are stupid, hardly any of your ideas hit their mark at all. Harry knows everything about me and I him. Now consider this he still claimed me as his friend after all that I have done, even the things that I never told him of in our letters."

* * *

><p>Are you going to confront me about being here as well?"<p>

"no. I have always trusted Harry's judgment. Even when you would curse Ron or our teachers. He trusts you. I wasn't lying when you arrived he would walk through fire just for you."

"He is the only person I have ever needed. The only one I wanted safe. Then I come to find that it was I that put him in harm's way all along."

"it makes you mad dosent it?"

"it does. Now leave me be."

* * *

><p>"Harry. You know I'm fine with you liking blokes right? I mean you know looking all girly has to have some impact on a bloke. You know I almost thought you were a girl too when I first met you." The boy obviously couldn't figure out that he was digging his own grave with each word. Harry's eyebrow twitched in annoyance. Unbeknownced to the pair of them Tom had just come up behind them he almost snorted at the fact that he wasn't the only one who was unsure of Harry's gender.<p>

"There's something you should know about Riddle. He's a bad guy if you stay with him he's just going to hurt you. He's dark as they come behind all those smiles and pretty face. He's a monster."

"I know." Tom's heart froze at the simple words that came from Harry's mouth. He knew. He agreed that he was a monster. With that Tom turned and ran.

"Then you'll leave him alone? I mean it would be great someone like you could really get hurt with a bloke like that."

"I know very well who and what Tom is and probably better than anyone what he has done. But you know what even if he's an asshole he's my best friend in the world."

"your not gonna leave him. Your not gonna leave that monster."

"Tom is no monster. Because if he is then so am I."

"so that's it then you're just going to leave me and run to him."

"I guess I am."

* * *

><p>"Tom can I talk to you?"<p>

"I am quite busy."

"Oh ok. Do you know about when you will be done?"

"No."

"Oh." Tom's short clipped responses were painful for Harry to hear.

"Alright then I'll let you do your work

* * *

><p>"EXPECTO PATRONAM!" a silver stag sprang forth from his wand and drove the dementor back. After it had fled Harry rushed to his friend<p>

"are you alright Tom?"

Tom listened to the soft voice of his friend, he was still astounded even after knowing that his friend was male his voice was still soft and warm enough to be a woman's. Tom wanted to hold him close but he resisted Harry had hurt him deeply, he would not let that go not at all.

"Are you talking to me again? Are you talking to the monster?"

"Yes I am because you are my best friend."

"And I thought you were mine."

"I am Tom, I…"

"Save it I heard you and Weasley talking."

"Ron? Oh Tom you heard that."

"Yes I heard you say that I am a monster."

"You left after you heard that didn't you?"

"I didn't need to hear anymore of your betraying me."

"Tom if you stuck around you would of heard something else."

"I said it doesn't matter."

"Yes it does, after that I said I knew you were a monster, I know you better than anyone else. I said that even if you were a monster you were my best friend in the world. And I told him that you could never be a monster to me because if you are then so am I."

"you are no monster, Harry. "

"are you done ignoring me?"

"I am sorry."

"yeah so am I, I'm still kind of mad you thought I was a girl but you were my first friend Tom. I was worried that you were only friends with me cause you thought I was a girl."

"Harry I have been in love with your mind for years. If I liked you just because I thought you were a woman I don't think I would have been nearly as interested or have waited so long for you."

"you like me?

"you are the only one I have ever wanted Harry. And yes I like you, a rather lot I'd think." _'who would have thought, the dark lord loved someone.'_ Then Harry remembered the diary from his second year. A thick blush coated his face when he realized that in a round about way Tom had already told him how he felt and he had never noticed.

"you are the only thing that matters to me Harry." Tom tilted Harry's chin upwards to meet his eyes.

"I sort of liked you too for a while now. But I thought it would make you feel awkward." Harry looked down at his feet blushing

"you are ever so innocent Harry."

A deep, sad, emptiness filled Harry's eyes. "No Tom I'm really not. I've killed and watched people die for me. I'm a soldier Tom."

"not for me. For me you're always just my Harry." Tom pulled the smaller boy close. Harry just smiled and let him. Tom was warm and his embrace meant the world.

But Tom felt disgusted with himself. He had run from Harry. He had done no better than what his own father had. He was no better than the foul red haired baboon. He had left Harry alone and allowed him to rescue him. It was unforgivable.

* * *

><p>"Where did he learn that. He told me about his patronus when we were thirteen but where did he learn to battle like that?"<p>

"Tom, Harry is a defensive prodigy, literally. Mind you he would never claim that he is or even admit to it if some one asked but he is. He mastered a fully corporeal patronus at thirteen. He taught the entire seven years of defensive curriculum to a group of students at fifteen and they all learned. Then at seventeen he gained both his mastery in defense and completed the auror training coarse."

"he never told me."

"he couldn't get to you. he was depressed for quite a while when he realized what had happened. Before the aurors came and told him to be one of them he seemed to have lost the will to do anything. He would disappear for hours on end. After they told him that he was going to be an auror he started spending all his time in books and where ever he had been going."

"do you know where it was that he went?"

"no, Ron and I tried following him once but we came to a dead end. It was like he up and vanished."

"where did the trail end."

"it was in a cave by the ocean it was.."

"I know where he went." Tom interrupted as he stood up and left Hermione where she sat.

* * *

><p>"why did you never tell me?"<p>

"tell you what?"

"you completed Auror training."

"I really didn't have the choice they wanted me to do it. that's why it took so long to get you here."

"And the mastery?"

"Hermione told you?

"yes now tell me everything including why you didn't tell me in the first place."

"I told you I didn't really want to do it. The mastery either actually. I was forced to take a mastery test after the Auror training. Because everyone who takes Auror training has to have a mastery in something.

"Harry the average age for taking Auror training is twenty five to thirty-five. They get their masteries _before_ they do the training."

* * *

><p>"you know when we were going through his things I found that bottle we shared on new years. Remember it?"<p>

"I remember." Tom answered off handedly. Would his older self have kept the ring with it as well?

"Hed hated the both of us for making her carry it back and forth."

"yes well your familiar displays her displeasure very well."

"yeah she did. I miss her."

"what happened?"

"she took a killing curse for me."

"then why don't we go and get her so you can stop this."

"it was somewhere over Surry." Harry looked up at Tom who's eyes held a malevolent glint in them.

"Tom what's wrong?"

"do you remember when I told you I couldn't consciously remember your address?"

"Well yeah. You were terrified for me, I don't think I've ever seen you so scared except for the chamber incident. It was after Uncle Vernon got the letter about my magic. What about it?"

"I remember now, Harry. Number 4 Privit Drive, Little Whining, Surry."

"Tom please don't."

"And why shouldn't I precious? Why shouldn't I make them pay? They've spent fifteen years hurting you in almost every way they could. They degraded you, neglected, and abused you. Even worse is they made you believe that you deserved their abuse. Had I not said anything when do you think that you would have learned that they were wrong?"

"Probably not till Hogwarts I guess." Harry ducked under Tom's rage at the Dursleys. Harry knew that Tom had always hated them. Never once had he thought that they were suitable for being Harry's guardians. In fact Harry thought he recalled a time when Tom had wrote something about them not being fit guardians for a snail.

* * *

><p>Tom looked at the three muggles in front of him. He knew perfectly well that when Harry found out he would be furious but he didn't care. It was for Harry's own good that they were being punished. They should never have thought that they could harm someone like him. They should never have tried to take what was Tom's.<p>

* * *

><p>"they were like my dads. I wished that they could adopt me sometimes."<p>

"why couldn't they? The werewolf I can understand but what of your godfather?"

"even after they cleared him Dumbledore told us that they wouldn't let a convicted felon adopt a child. He and Remus wanted a baby to but the ministry wouldn't let that happen either. I was the only one they had left."

"there is no such law in the ministry Harry. None at all. Dumbledore lied to all of you."

"but why would the ministry let a ex-convict adopt a child?"

"there is no such thing as an ex-convict in the wizarding world Harry. If you are guilty you serve in Azkaban. I told you once that no one survives long enough to see the end of their imprisonment. If your godfather was a free man then he was free to do as he wished the same as Hagrid."

"you're still in trouble for that by the way."

"I was mearly preserving my own continued existence."

"I know. I know you cant change it too.

* * *

><p>"You hate it here don't you."<p>

"I have you."

"that's not what I asked. You don't like being here."

"everything's wrong its too different from my time. The world went and got itself in a hell of a hurry. It's too fast, too noisy. Too many people."

"I know what you mean. It doesn't feel like home anymore. Too many people died and too much was lost."

"Harry, if I found a way would you go back with me?"

"i dont know. maybe."

* * *

><p>"I cant belive that after all we've been through you chose him over me. Why Harry? Why cant you just see he's not worth it. Some people are just born evil. He was born with the use of a love potion for Merlin's sake!"<p>

"Ron."

"You know nothing about me Weasley. Nothing at all. Don't presume you do. And a loveless child conceived from a love potion is a complete myth."

"I know plenty I watched those memories Dumbledore had of you as a kid you've always been an evil git."

"oh so the old bastard had memories of me did he? which ones, I am curious. Harry?"

"only the rabbit incident, the doll, a few interviews and memories of your mum. He dint have the bad ones."

"what bad ones that caretaker lady had said a priest nearly died."

"he wasn't a priest." Harry said offhandedly. He was worried about Tom. His own past had been bad when he realized that it had been wrong but Tom's… he had known all along that it was wrong.

"that… Thing was not a priest he only pretended to be one to be trusted." Harry held Tom as the other boy vented his deep rage at Father Lucas.

"the hell hole I grew up in was a bigoted muggle cesspool. The only other magical being in thirty miles was a five year old witch who also lived there."

"Tom, who?"

"Libby."

"you mean you left a baby witch with an abusive xenophobic pedophile!"

"no I left her hiding under Martha's skirts. Her magic never drew attention it was subtle, making flowers grow and second hand toys plush, little things. She wouldn't have been noticed by him I made sure of it."

"A what?" Ron looked at Harry confused, none of the words Harry had just used made any sense.

"I don't suppose wizards would have that word would they?" Harry looked at his friend carefully.

"No they don't. It is unthinkable to them." Tom's words were harsh and cold, his manner was distant but Harry could see the fear and pain that dwelt inside of him. Tom had been lucky to be as powerful as he was. If he hadn't… Harry shuddered to think of what could have happened to his friend.

"I don't see what we are discussing here Harry he is evil. He's just going to hurt you again."

"No.

"Ron please don't say any more you really don't know."

"how can you say that I've been with you the whole time."

"no you haven't Ron. Tom has he knows everything about me that there is to know and I know him."

"he's a psychopath Harry. Cant you see that."

"no he isn't. Ron I remember when we were little and he wrote to me. One time he told me life is harsh when you are all alone there is no one to save you. but I will save you. no ones coming for me but I've got you. that is what he told me I cant abandon him Ron not now not ever."

"are you going to try and change him then? Make him good?"

"Ron I wouldn't change him, if he tries to hurt someone I'll stop it but I wont change him. He's my best friend. I'll take the good and the bad with it.

* * *

><p>"Tom. What was Libby's full name?"<p>

"Elizabeth Mariner."

"Tom, she's not listed in the registry. At all."

"what do you mean she's not that registry shows every student Hogwarts has ever had. Are you sure you are looking correctly?"

"Yes Tom and she's not there. I was looking to see where she might be now but she's not there.

* * *

><p>Isn't that like killing yourself?"<p>

"no, it would be the same as if I was absorbing another horcrux. I gain all the memories and that portion of my soul. In this case I would assume my seventeen year old self's body. There for having a complete soul."

"do you remember enough about being at Hogwarts?"

"of coarse I made my diary at the end of sixth year."

"I really don't get how these things work Tom. You killed Myrtle in your sixth year but I didn't stop writing you until the summer of seventh. How did you come to believe that I was dead?"

"I had made the kill in school. But the fracture in my soul lasts, I didn't lock it away in the book until after I had thought you died. I didn't want to feel the pain."

"oh. Tom." Harry wrapped his arms around his friend.

* * *

><p>"what is going on here?" the other Tom asked."<p>

"it will be far simpler if you just do as I say." Harry's Tom said lazily.

"I'm really sorry Tom."

"Harry?"

"yeah, I'm here."

"you're alive."

"yeah." Harry hugged the other Tom tightly.

Harry's Tom watched the display seething, he would not share Harry not even with himself. Harry was his.

* * *

><p>"You are Tom's Harry." Martha smiled.<p>

"yes ma'am." Harry smiled softly.

"you're a boy."

"yes ma'am. Tom seemed to be under the impression that I was a girl."

"well I don't suppose it matters now are you going to be staying the summer here before you go to your school?"

"no ma'am Tom is inviting me to attend his school. The only thing left to do will be to ask his headmaster."

"Well you two had best hurry and do that then.

* * *

><p>"we need to go to Gringotts."<p>

* * *

><p>"I'd like to open a vault."<p>

"your name."

"Harry James Blackmoon."

"I see and the deposit amount?"

"well its quite a lot of gold."

"the amount Mr. Blackmoon."

"3,984,763 galleons." The goblin at the register's eyes grew wide at the amount that the seemingly young boy listed.

"your parents must be present for this transaction."

"no they don't I am of majority. It is my money to do with what I wish."

"forgive me if I do not believe you in the matter of your age sir." The goblin sneered at him.

"do you have a way for me to prove my age to you?"

"yes." "write your name and age here." The goblin handed over a black quill and a simple piece of parchment with runes running down its border. It was veritum parchment, a parchment that could tell no lie- the same as the Marauder's map.

_Harry James Blackmoon_

_Age 17_

* * *

><p>"How did you lie on the parchment?"<p>

"I didn't I told it who I am now. Harry Potter doesn't exist here. Just Harry Blackmoon who happens to be best friends with Tom Riddle." Harry smiled lightly at Tom.

"Now that that's taken care of I guess we owl your headmaster."

"That would be correct."

"How did you come across so much money?"

"Sirius was a Black. He was the last male Black and he made me his heir.

* * *

><p>"Harry."<p>

"you still want to meet him don't you."

"it is a whimsical desire I don't understand why I have it."

"you want to know why he never came for you. "

"perhaps."

* * *

><p>"so that wretch really did have a kid."<p>

"you shouldn't say that. Merope Riddle nee Gaunt was an amazing woman, she survived a life of hell for twenty three years. She fell in love with a man she could never have, she found an escape from her hell. Then she gave her life so her son could live. Her moral compass may not have pointed north but she was cunning .You are a worthless, pathetic creature compared to all she did. You have been pampered and waited on since the day you were born. If there is one thing I can say that came from you abandoning your wife it is that your son became a better man than you will ever be."

"HARRY!"

"its nothing Tom, I've dealt with blows like that all my life from a man three times his size there is nothing anyone can do to scare me." Then Harry turned from the son to his father.

"Your son didn't come to you looking for wealth and titles he has those on his own without you, he came here to know part of his family."

"Harry." Tom held the smaller boy close.

"What are you doing boy?"

"don't call me boy. You left my mother because she belonged to the wizarding world, to my world, I knew when I came here that this would end poorly Harry is right I am better off without you in my life. I came here still clinging to some childish dream of knowing my father."

"I am not your father you heathen." Tom Riddle Sr. seethed.

"you're right you aren't my father, you may have sired me but you are no father of mine. I've already done better than you I've found someone I love more than life, someone I am going to marry. And if we ever have children I will never abandon them because I am not my father's son."

* * *

><p>"I'm proud of you Tom."<p>

"I meant every word."

"you mean…"

"I want to marry you. I fell in love with a little girl as a child then I met an amazing man who was more beautiful than any woman I have ever seen. I want to marry you Harry James Blackmoon Potter, My Harry."

"I think I can do that,

There is one more place I would like to go now."

"your uncle's."

"that's right

* * *

><p>"wow you're a boy. Tom had us all thinking that you were a girl."<p>

"trust me I know. I'm still rather upset about that."

"I apologized." Tom stated simply.

Alphard looked at tom stunned, this little waif thin feminine boy managed to get Tom Riddle to actually apologize for something?

"I know and I forgave you but it still bothers me that my best friend thought me a girl."

* * *

><p>"hi Tom."<p>

"hello."

"you know it's Hogsmead weekend this weekend right?" the girl batted her long eyelashes at Tom

"I am aware of it." Tom said off handedly. Harry was curious as to what she was getting at; after all didn't everyone realize it was Hogsmead weekend?

"would you like to come with me?"

"I'm afraid I will be otherwise engaged."

"oh well maybe next time then."

"no I think not because you so brazenly asked me on a date in front of my boyfriend."

"WHAT!" the girl cried.

"I said quite clearly that I will not date you, now or in the future and I believe you owe my boyfriend an apology for being so presumptuous."

"Tom that's really not necessary she didn't know."

* * *

><p>"what are the two of you doing?"<p>

"we're looking for flats."

"why would you want a flat instead of getting a house?"

"because a flat is cheap and we don't know were we want to live yet."

"we should take a trip to Albania after we leave school you would love it.." Harry said turning the page of their catalog

"perhaps we should." Tom agreed.

"Mr. Blackmoon, Mr. Riddle Please pay attention to my class."

"Yes sir great lord of lemon drops." Harry mockingly bowed to the long bearded man. Tom was having trouble trying not to laugh.

"Abraxaus poke his side."

"what?" The Malfoy heir looked incredulously at his young Lord's partner. Did he really want to die?

"he's ticklish on his ribs. He needs to learn to laugh at my funnies."

"No I am perfectly fine." Abraxaus held his hands up and clear of Tom.

"Mr. Riddle?" Dumbledore looked at Tom surprise almost evident in his eyes at seeing him be anything less than composed.

"I don't need to laugh at your horrible jokes Harry sit down."

"I will find a way to make you laugh."

"I'm sure you will." Tom said indulgently.

* * *

><p>"gotcha!" Alphard laughed as he snapped a picture of Harry and Tom's kiss.<p>

"Black." Tom growled.

"leave him be and do that again." Harry laughed as he pulled Tom back to him. Tom's face softened and he did as Harry had asked the lordship ring on his right hand glinting as he did.

* * *

><p>EPILOGE:<p>

**Minister Tom Marvolo Riddle** is among the greatest wizards of our time. He is a renowned politician and scholar. His greatest achievements to our society were;

The young magic foundation, which is responsible for the orphanage and muggleborn introduction facility Phoenix Abbey*, as well as the wizarding primary school. Both of which increased the squib working population.

The World Divide Ward Stones which separated our world from our muggle counterparts'. 00,000

He is responsible for creating the Muggleborn Retrieval Department* of our ministry.

He also rewrote the laws concerning creatures. Thus allowing werewolves, veela, and vampires, and many others their rights in the government.

He has also revolutionized the Hogwarts curriculum with several of his research topics.

His most famous research was published in several small but in depth journals.

Entitled: Dark Affinity, Biased Learning, and Muggleborns' Fears.

Minister Riddle is married to the well known Defense Professor of Hogwarts School of witchcraft and wizardry, Harry James Blackmoon Riddle.

*The creation of Phoenix Abbey was thought up by Minister Riddle's husband.

The Abbey was conceptualized, as a place for magical orphans and those who were abused to escape to. what it became was a haven to the muggleborn population. After seeing the truth of how right Minister Riddle's research was the go ahead was given to form the Muggleborn retrieval Department.

The muggleborn retrieval Department has specialized in removing magical children from the non-magical world. Most often they are removing infants. But on occasion older children have been removed as well.

When working with retrieval, they acquire the muggleborn child's information and then they send a team to get the child, the child is then replaced with a muggle orphan. The orphan child undergoes a blood adoption of the intended parents and then everyone is obliviated so none of them are any wiser and two children grow up loved.

The retrieval department then gives the child to the caretakers of Phoenix Abbey. The child once there is able to stay or be adopted by a wizarding family.

**Professor Harry James Blackmoon Riddle** is on record the youngest to have gotten the Defense Professorship at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He obtained both a defense mastery certification and Auror training completion certification when he was seventeen. He is also a well-known parselmouth. But his experience with the much-shrouded language of snakes has shed light on many things pertaining to it. Apparently the parseltounge gene comes from interbreeding with the Indian Naga or their greek cousin the Lamiea. In the book written by Professor Riddle and his husband, it explained that Salazar Slytherin's own mother was indeed one. After this enlightening book was released several other parselmouths made themselves known most of which are located in India and surrounding areas.

Professor Riddle is also said to be the one who gave the decorated Junior Auror Alister Moody his nervous tick and catch phrase 'Constant Vigilance'.

Professor Riddle considers his greatest achievements being a teacher, a parent and marrying someone he loved.

**Professor Rubeus Hagrid **has been the professor for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry's Care of Magical Creatures class for many years. He has made many young witches and wizards interested in creature based fields with his teaching. In his time as a teacher he has written several thesis's on many different creatures his favorite being dragons. His own Antipodian Opaleye dragon Topaz has aided in his behavioral studies of creatures.

When asked what made him the proudest his only answer was 'a second chance.' The professor may have been referring to his finished schooling in this.

In 1942 he was expelled from Hogwarts with circumstantial evidence, while the creature he had in his possession was not licensed it was later found that it could not have been the cause of the attacks. He later completed his schooling and became a professor in addition to groundskeeper.

He is in a long-term engagement to Madame Olympia Maxim headmistress of Beaubuxton's Magical Academy.

* * *

><p>Harry strolled down the corridors of the school, it was after dark and the students were all in bed. It was peaceful like it always was when the castle showed this side of its face.<p>

Walking past he saw a door slightly jarred open. Curiously he opened it, what he saw inside was very familiar to him. He wandered over to the three meters high mirror and looked into it.

In it he saw himself and Tom and their son. Dresden ran up to him and Tom with a cluster of seashells in his hand and a sand bucket in the other. He held his son as Tom hugged him and gave him a kiss.

"Should of known." He said gathering a dustsheet from the corner and throwing it over the mirror.

As he walked out a thought crossed his mind. '_I wonder if Tom would want to go to the beach this summer?'_

With that he spelled the door locked to all but a parseltounge override and carried on with his stroll.

Even the happiest man on earth knew that it did not do to dwell in dreams. Dreams were made best when they were made real.

THE END


	4. Locket makes things right

Locket Tom saves everything.

* * *

><p>YEAR 5<p>

"Mrs. Weasley can I keep this?"

"I suppose so dear. It certainly seems to be alright but it's locked tight. If it starts acting strange don't hesitate to bring it to someone to destroy.

* * *

><p>Harry laid on his bed in Grimauld Place staring at the handsome gold locket that he had aquired. It had a silver snake inlaid in it that formed an 'S'. with a spark of inspiration he hissed to it "<strong>open up.<strong>"

Surprisingly the locket did as he asked and clicked open.

"Tom!" Harry smiled as he looked at his friend.

"Harry." The portrait whispered in awe.

* * *

><p>"how old where you when you had this picture taken."<p>

"nineteen." Tom smirked at his friend

"but how? you are the same age as me."

"how old are you right now?" Tom was curiously, his Harry looked so young.

"fifteen now."

"I know you are clever enough to figure out a way."

"well I know about timeturners but I don't think those would take you back far enough to lose a locket four or more years in the past."

"you are correct.

* * *

><p>YEAR 6<p>

'_I don't think so old man.'_ Tom thought angrily as he saw his ring on Dumbledore's finger. It was quite obviously still whole but for how long he could not say. Silently he began to call to the other shard of his soul.

His message was simple.

'_take the magic and life from the old man. Rip it from him for our own and for our Harry. He is controlling our Harry.'_

He could feel the ire from his counterpart grow exponentially. With every passing moment the old man grew weaker and only Harry could give the way to destroy it. But his sweet little friend didn't consciously know how she had destroyed the horcrux nor did she know that the diary had been his horcrux.

The old man was beaten at his own game. Harry had associated his locket with his best friend Tom. He could never see it as being a possible horcrux because the mind web prevented the two from being linked. A malicious grin spread across his face.

* * *

><p>"Harry Snitches have flesh memory remember."<p>

"I know but it didn't open when I touched it."

"What exactly was said in the note left with it?"'

"It said 'I open at the close.' It was the snitch from my very first Quidditch match.

"Harry you didn't catch the snitch in your first match. You swallowed it."

"How can you remember that?"

"I have perfect recall."

"You are amazing sometimes."

"Only sometimes?"

"Yeah because the rest of the time you are just wonderful.

There inside the snitch was his ring. And it had taken ever ounce of power from the former light lord that it could. If he hadn't been present the ring would have been destroyed and his splintered soul moved into the place between.

* * *

><p>He reached out to the soul fragment.<p>

"Rejoin with our older form, and recall the diary. We are going to get back what is ours."

"Harry."

"is safe for now.

* * *

><p>"The only ones that would recognize us would have been Dumbledore, the oaf, and Slughorn. The only one who still remains is the half giant."<p>

"make preparations for when we bring Harry to our home. It is only a little while longer."

* * *

><p>"<strong>Nagani just drink the potion already."<strong> Tom held up a vial of modified deaging solution. He would rather not have his familiar mentally regress and forget everything that had happened.

"**I spent a number of years to get this big I have no desire to be small again."**

"**You will because Harry is coming to me."**

"**your mate? But how all these years…"**

"**Children's magic is a volatile thing."**

"**The boy! I told you so master. But you didn't listen. I told you so."**

"**be quiet you vain serpent and drink the potion."**

"**yes master."**

* * *

><p>In their own mental world the two parts met.<p>

"we have to make Harry feel safe. And for that there can not be a dark lord. He has been told for too long that we want him dead. Lord Voldemort will have to die."

"you want me to die and you get Harry."

"no. you will become a spirit and we will both revive using me. We will be complete and we will have Harry." The nineteen year old horcrux smirked.

"this seems to be an adequate plan."

* * *

><p>"hello my friend.<p>

"Tom!" Harry spun around to see a handsome boy

"how did you find me?"

"you are quite easy to find if one knows how to go about it."

Harry took a step back and reached his hand up only to pluck the taller boy

"What the hell was that for?"

"you thought I was a girl."

"I realized that I was mistaken didn't I? "

"I suppose so. "

"where did you learn about that?"

"Hermione told me."

"I should have known."

"hey! What's that supposed to mean." Harry was smiling. Tom couldn't help but feel that everything was better now. Besides with Dumbledore gone he could get things done within the system. Especially with Harry at his side.

"it means you my friend are very oblivious to certain things."

* * *

><p>"hold on to me."<p>

"ok but why?"

"we are going somewhere. Close your eyes."

* * *

><p>"what do you think?"<p>

"I think it's amazing." Harry examined the house in it's entirety. Then in the corner resting in a cushy reading chair was a snake, a very particular snake.

"Nagani! She's so big now."

"Yes she is. She's eating rabbits now."

"wow."

"**Continue praising me master's mate. It is quite enjoyable."**

Harry blushed slightly.

"**I thought I said not to call us that."**

"**why should I**

* * *

><p>"you still hate cooking don't you."<p>

"Despise it really."

"I can handle cooking for you, you know. After all you are volunteering your home for me."

"Remember what we agreed on. After we graduate we would share a flat. I still like that idea.

Harry tried to fight down the blush that was threatening to show itself. Sharing a place with Tom had been one of his goals for so long but he didn't know if he could do it. Even being in the same room with him made him think of the dreams he had of his friend.

* * *

><p>"This can be your room if you want it. I don't keep guests so it may need to be cleaned."<p>

"Tom your OCD is showing."

"I do not have obsessive compulsive disorder. "

"yeah you do you are just too proud to let it show." Harry smiled looking up at his friend.

* * *

><p>"Tom what's this?"<p>

"what are you looking at?"

"well it looks like that bottle we shared on your birthday and new years."

Tom paled when he realized what Harry was looking at.

"Tom?"

"Harry, you were gone for a long time. I thought your uncle had really killed you this time. Speaking of which you are of majority now do those wards still work?"  
>"Tom you cant. Please don't."<p>

"why not?"

"just… just don't okay. I'm sorry for misleading you like that. I know it probably hurt."

"like nothing ever before."

"I had to I didn't want anyone to find you and hurt you."

Tom held Harry and kissed him soundly. Harry's shock quickly subsided and he leaned into Tom.

"so you do like me." Tom said smugly.

"I'm sorry." Harry backed away and hung his head.

"never be sorry. " Tom tilted Harry's chin up to look at him.

"but boys aren't supposed to like other boys."

"is that why you never told me?"

"I thought it would make you angry, that another boy liked you. I didn't want to lose you so I didn't tell you." Harry looked down at his feet ashamedly

" I didn't want to be a freak to you." Harry whispered.

"I don't like boys Harry, I like you." Tom purred gently pulling his friend into his arms. He rather enjoyed this, this was how it was meant to be. Harry was his.

"You like me? Even though I'm not a girl like you thought?"

"yes. I like you a rather lot. And you not being a girl has no weight to me. I have no interest in most people. Only you. does that make you understand?"

* * *

><p>Tom strolled the streets with Harry at his side. He didn't care if anyone saw him because there were none alive now that would remember Tom Riddle and link him to Harry Potter's boyfriend. The only ones who could were madam Deedra and Borgin in the Old Quarter of Knockturn Alley. Neither of them would sell him out. Not even after five decades had they come forth with knowledge of him. During the first war Deedra had even acted as a healer to him a few times.<p>

* * *

><p>"I wonder if I can meet them some day?"<p>

"who?"

"Libby and Martha. They took care of you when I couldn't I wish I could thank them for being there."

* * *

><p>Tom traveled to the home where the ninety-two year old Martha sat dazed in a chair. It was pitiful how years affected muggles so. The average lifespan of a wizard was more than double that of a muggle's. Even the old goat, up until his 'unfortunate' demise, had lived to be one hundred sixty seven; and that was with the stress of three wars having been fought in his lifetime.<p>

Tom knew perfectly well that the deaging potion would most likely kill the woman after it was reversed.

* * *

><p>Libby was a photographer oddly enough. She explored the magical world and photographed it for the Goblins of Gringotts to reference.<p>

* * *

><p>"Libby is a witch."<p>

* * *

><p>"Libby this is madam Deedra. If the two of you desire it she can adopt you."<p>

"really! I'm gonna get a mama!"

"I'm too old for that young'in but I can be your granny if you wouldn't mind." Deedra's age wizened eyes sparkled. Innumerable years lined the old crones face as she spoke gently in her ancient gravely voice.

"I want you to be my gran'ma. I really do." Libby looked up at the crone with only the innocence that a child could have.

"you're the bestest big brother ever Tom!"

"Bestest is not a word."

"is too."


	5. Voldemort captures Harry

Voldemort captures Harry ending direction.

Pairing: HarryXVoldemort/ HarryXDiary Tom/ HarryXLocket Tom

Rating: I have no idea most likely around T.

Timeline: seventh year.

* * *

><p>The snatchers had brought them to the dark lord himself.<p>

* * *

><p>"Where did you get this?" Voldemort looked stunned at the little dragon pendent around Harry's neck. It simply wasn't possible.<p>

* * *

><p>"Repairo." The locket and the diary each became whole again. With that he began the ritual to re-anchor the soul pieces that had belonged inside of them. He summoned the shards of his soul from limbo.<p>

The two younger forms of himself blurred into existence. Being near them was difficult but it was a suffering he would endure. A soul even one as black as his own never wanted to be divided and when its parts were together with the original soul they would always wish to become whole. The older the horcrux was the more it would strain. And these two he had made when he was a teenager.

"You are a fool. You possessed Harry without even considering that Dumbledore had him under his thumb. Mind webs can be transmitted by possession."

"Do not call me a fool, you cocky piece of jewelry."

"Or what you will lock me away for a few decades. You have already done that. The drawing room of the Black house was lovely. And an inferi infested cave had such a homey touch." Voldemort hated dealing with himself at nineteen he was an annoying cocky cynical brat. If it were not for the fact that he needed his horcrux he most likely would have banished it.

"Potter is really our Harry? I was right them." Diary spoke soundly.

"Yes. And you are even more of a fool for not realizing it. You spent a whole year with him and didn't realize."

"I had just learned that it had been fifty years since I was stuck in a book that I have no wish to return to. I thought that he was a girl, I thought that he had died. It is impossible."

"but he's Harry and the world bends for our Harry even when she didn't want it to."

"I don't believe you."

"then find out yourself. You will be disappointed if you seek to prove me wrong after all Tom Riddle is always right."

* * *

><p>"where did you get the pendent around your neck?"<p>

"no where. It was a gift."

"oh, and who from?"

"I will never tell you that. I wont let you hurt him."

"must you be so difficult? Legmens." Flashes of Harry's life blinked pasted the dark lord's eyes in rapid succession. Every hit, every bruise, every drop of blood spilled, none of it escaped his eyes. He saw a three year old staring longingly at his family wondering why they didn't hug him. He saw a five year old standing on a chair learning to cook a meal he would most likely never get to eat. He saw a six year old who didn't understand the pitying looks the people around him gave.

He saw the single thought that replayed over and over through that bitter cold childhood.

'_its alright. they keep me so they do care. I just make things easier for them so I'm not a burden.'_

Then he found what he had been searching for- a seven year old tiny and bruised finding a letter. Happiness and excitement flooding that memory making it a warm safe place in his mind. When everything in his life tumbled down that memory and the others like it gave him hope.

'_I'm not alone anymore. I wont give up because Tom needs me. I wont let him be alone again.'_

"somnus." Harry felt to the ground with the magical sleep.

Voldemort picked up the boy and apperated away with him. The two horcruxes gathered their prisons and apperated after him.

* * *

><p>"Neither of you are sharing my bed. You will war with each other to decide where you will sleep but you will leave Harry be."<p>

"I will stay with him." The locket offered.

"Why should we let you?"

"As amusing as it is to argue with an adolescent version of myself. It would be best for Harry. Our older form would frighten him and you are to hormonal."

"I am most certainly not."

"And you annoy me."

"You are annoyed by yourself."

"Apparently so.

* * *

><p>"Careful precious."<p>

"wha?"

"you cant figure it out but don't worry about it we'll help you out

* * *

><p>Harry looked down at the picture that was handed to him. It was him- in the dress from Hermione's dare fifth year- the reason he didn't bet. A thick blush coated his face before he looked up<p>

"Where did you get this? Only two people should know that this picture even exists at all. What did you do to him!"

"damn it Dumbledore." Locket growled though he also found himself pleased that Harry would defend him so.

"What did you do to Tom!"

"I've got an idea.

* * *

><p>Harry held in his hands a yearbook from Hogwarts 1945. It was open to one page in partcicular, a page holding the portrait and list of titles to one Tom Marvolo Riddle.<p>

* * *

><p>"I'm hungry." Diary looked down at his rumbling stomach stunned. He hadn't felt hunger in decades. He had forgotten what it felt like to have a body<p>

"I can make something for you. if you want me to."

Tom turned to see Harry standing in the doorway.

"Harry."

"Hi Tom." Harry smiled warmly.

"You remember now."

"yeah. I remember." Tom couldn't help but notice how sad Harry's eyes were. His eyes and his face contradicted each other so vastly that Tom couldn't understand what his friend was feeling. He lied and manipulated people's emotions but he coud never truly understand them. With Harry he had never had to.

"do you want anything in particular?"

"no. I just didn't think that I had to eat. I'm not alive you know."

"I know." Harry whispered brokenly. His best friend was gone. He had been gone for a long time and all this Tom was, was a remnant of that past. A fantasy that he never got to see. Because Tom Riddle didn't exist anymore, Lord Voldemort was all that remained.

"I would like some coffee." Tom decided.

"I can do that, can you go ask the other two what they would like?"

"probably coffee."

"Tom, I know all about your caffeine addiction. I'm asking what you and your other selves would like to eat. You cant just eat coffee beans."

"I am not a fool Harry I know what constitutes a proper meal."

"Tom you have always been my friend I know that you are not a fool."

* * *

><p>"<p>

Harry leaned up and planted a soft, chaste kiss on his lips. He then backed out of the horcrux's embrace sadly. This Tom was cold. He had no warmth of life at all.

"can you go ask the others what the want to eat."

"of coarse."

* * *

><p>"I told you to stay away from him." The locket's horcrux hissed.<p>

"I told you that you were too hormonal to deal with."

"I am not hormonal."

"oh really and what was that just now. We can not act on our desires with him. We simply can not. We are not alive. We are merely remnants."

"how can you tell me not to act. How can you tell me not to claim what has always been mine."

"because he is not ours any longer.

* * *

><p>The sixteen year old form of Tom Riddle began to fade<p>

* * *

><p>Harry couldn't help but stare at the new form of the Dark lord.<p>

Where as Voldemort had been unnaturally tall and skeletal at roughly six and a half feet and Tom had been a natural tallness of six foot one with some definition of muscle, this form was a blend of them. His height was shortened to meet an even 6'3", he was lithe but no longer skeletal.

His skin was porcelain pale with a length of scales running down his spine, he had soft sable hair hanging neatly down to his shoulders.

He had Tom's high cheek bones, his aquiline nose and soft lips. Harry blushed lightly as that thought passed through his mind.

Instead of Tom's dark blue oceanic depths or Voldemort's burning crimson he had shocking violet that seemed to glow with a light all their own. Around the cat-slit pupil was a starburst of red. They were beautiful and exotic in their own way.

"why do you still have scales?"

"that body was artificially crafted it can only merge but so well with my horcruxes as they hold the memory of my natural body. "

"I thought that your looks changed because of the dark magic."

"The degradation of my appearance was not caused by my dark magic. horcruxes are not dark magic they are soul magic. Dark and light magic are forces natural to the earth and a wizard's core. Soul magic is the direct violation of nature."

"It's good to have you back Tom." Harry smiled and hugged the Dark lord. For just that single moment he could forget the horrors that the man his friend had become caused. For a moment he felt like he was flying and the world was right.

But like all good things do it came to an end.

* * *

><p>"I am seventy one years old. I can not and will not go down this avenue with you."<p>

"I understand I'm sorry."

* * *

><p>"My lord." Bellatrix nodded to her master but lust shown bright in her eyes.<p>

"forgive me my lord but if I may be so bold what brought about this…. Change?"

* * *

><p>Harry for the first time felt jealousy. It was an odd feeling for him. Even when he was a child he had never been jealous. Confused perhaps but never jealous. It hurt to watch the man his friend had become be pawed at by the insane witch. As much as it hurt to think that his friend had torn apart the wizarding world he still loved Tom Riddle.<p>

* * *

><p>"you are not well Harry."<p>

"no. I'll be fine."

"but you aren't fine now." Tom pulled Harry close but even with the comfort being offered he was the same as the diary horcrux. He was cold as death.

* * *

><p>"what are you doing now?"<p>

"Harry is of age you know."

"I hardly see the point of this." The dark lord said plainly. Though he was actually getting to be rather uncomfortable with the direction his horcrux seemed to be

"Harry is of age and the wards on his family's home only lasted until his seventeenth birthday. I can remember where he lived now." The horcrux smirked maliciously. Harry would most likely not approve but those muggles deserved every moment of suffering he could possibly give them. They wouldn't even have the mercy of insanity to hide behind. After what they had done to Tom's precious friend he had no mercy to give.

An identical smirk spread across the Dark Lord's face.

"perhaps I have a raid to plan

* * *

><p>"Say Gred."<p>

"Yes Forge."

"doesn't that bloke there look like…"

"Harry's pretty boy crush. Why yes dear brother I do believe it is."

"I sincerely do not trust either of you. I have spoken with Harry enough about you to know that you are both fools."

"ah but we are clever fools, we are."

"but better yet we are clever fools who know a thing or two about your friend."

"such as?"

"well first…"

"He's got this…"

"Teeny…."

"Tiny…."

"Rather large…"

"Crush on you."

"Yeah and its been going on for so long. "

"Why we…"

"Thought we might…"

"Just give you a hand."

"has anyone ever actually been fool enough to trust you?"

"harry trusts us."

"no he predicts you that is vastly different and infinitely more intelligent.

* * *

><p>The Dark lord walked into the room only to see his horcrux snogging Harry.<p>

* * *

><p>"most of your soul is still in puberty."<p>

"don't remind me. I already know this."

"you don't have enough of a soul left to fight it either. The diary was half your original soul. All you had left was a tiny sliver of it. It is your own fault you know, that most of your soul is still a teenager. Half is sixteen and hormonal, a quarter is seventeen and cocky, I'm nineteen and only an eighth of it and you cant stand me. Truly you are younger than Harry you just happen to have the memories of the last fifty years. How does it feel to realize that the only thing holding you back from what you want is yourself?"

"be silent you annoying trinket."

"you are so jealous but you do nothing to bring Harry to you instead. He misses you you know. How very odd it is that he still wants his Tom. Even after knowing all that you have done to him."


	6. Voldemort saves Harry

Voldemort saves Harry ending direction

Timeline: Harry's seventeenth birthday

* * *

><p>Every year he tried to find her grave. Every year he failed. But again he would try. Even he could not bring back the dead but even after all the years that had passed she was still precious to him.<p>

* * *

><p>Voldemort could only stare at the map that had revealed a location. For nearly forty years before he had tried. It had become a ritual to him, a habbit that he couldn't or wouldn't give up. Then Potter happened , but ever since he returned he had tried for the last two years.<p>

* * *

><p><em>I'm sorry Tom,<em>

_I'm not going to be able to write you much longer._

_Good bye my friend._

_Harry_

"Take that to him Hed." Harry laid back down the only thing that kept him safe was the ring that Tom had made. He looked up painfully at the wall over his bed. But it couldn't protect him everywhere. His uncle had found that out rather quickly.

* * *

><p>As he laid on his bed his blood seeped through his shirt and darkened his threadbare sheets. His blood had been bleached from them many times over to meet his aunt's approval. He only had a little while left before Hermione's portkey would activate. He didn't think that it would save him, not this time.<p>

* * *

><p>As Hedwig returned she found her master laying in a pool of his own blood. She couldn't help but worry that he wouldn't make it this time.<p>

* * *

><p>Voldemort, in the glamored form of his younger self apperated to the location his scrying had indicated. He had expected to find an old cemetery but instead he found himself in a tiny bedroom. The smell of blood was thick in the air But while the room itself was nothing special the person laying on the bed was.<p>

Harry Potter layed helpless, bloodied, and broken on the small bed.

"Tom." The boy smiled weakly. "you came for me." A tear trickled down his face. "you weren't supposed to." The dark lord could not help his shock at the boy's state. It brought too many memories to him. He didn't know if he should heal the boy or simply kill him. Why didn't he kill him? Surely it would be simple. He had killed hundreds of people in cold blood and never flinched or felt a hint of remorse. The only death that he had ever felt anything for had been hers.

* * *

><p>Hedwig watched her master's suitor kneel over him. Perhaps he finally knew. But she knew that he would take care of her master.<p>

* * *

><p>"No! Tom!" fear filled his eyes and with all the power left in his body Harry pushed Tom out of his uncle's path. A sickening crunch echoed through the small room leaving him motionless on the floor.<p>

"I should have known that the freak would be a poof."

Voldemort resisted the urge to roll his eyes. He hated stupid people and most did not continue to live one being stupid. This overly large one was no different.

"crucio." He said as he moved his wand lazily. The fat man fell to the ground screaming.

"oh come now even Potter screams less than you. perhaps if you were a little trimmer." The dark lord's sardonic tone filtered through the already blood scented room. He cast a cutting curse on the man and cut the fatty layers from his body like one would a pig.

* * *

><p>Voldemort looked down at the boy. He had fallen unconscious do to the pain and blood loss. Actually it was supprising that the boy could muster the strength to move him at all.<p>

The dark lord frowned

The boy had tried to protect him. He was obviously delierious from blood loss but the matter remained. Why? He had called him Tom. He had obviously thought he was someone else. Someone that he trusted.

He packed the boy's belongings into the trunk with a subtle flick of his wand before shrinking the whole trunk. He would go through the things later.

* * *

><p>"Why are you taking care of me? Why didn't you leave me to die?"<p>

"you called me Tom. Why?"

"nothing you just looked like someone else." Harry looked away. He didn't know what to do in this situation. He had been taken from his home by Voldemort. But he had been healed and saved from his uncle.

"I see." Obviously whoever the boy was attached to he cared for deeply.

* * *

><p>"is something amusing?"<p>

"nothing." Harry looked down.

"I would have thought that you would have a house elf or something."

"I do not. I have what suits my needs. I may dislike menial tasks but I do know how to do them."

* * *

><p>"<strong>Winter-born-again always making trouble. I am big now silly bird. I can eat you."<strong>

Hedwig screeched at the snake in response.

"**I knew it. I was right. So similar. Too similar."**

"**what are you on about Nagani?"**

"**your mate."**

"**we have been over this many times now. Potter is not her."**

"**I will prove it. Silly master."**

* * *

><p>Harry looked down at the paper that had fallen. The hand writing was exactly the same as the letters in his pocket. The same exact spidery scrawl that he had always jokingly called Tom's politician writing.<p>

"bloody politician writing." Harry laughed under his breath

"what did you just say?" Voldemort looked up from his desk.

"nothing."

"you said something what did you just say?"

"it wasn't important really. it was just that your handwriting reminded me of my friend's."

"my hand writing reminds you of a friend."

"yeah, I told him a couple of times he had politician writing. And yours made me think of that."

* * *

><p>"<strong>Hello Harry." <strong>Nagani hissed sweetly at the boy she knew to be her master's mate.

"**what do you want from me?"**

"**nothing at all. You were so much larger when I was small."**

"**what?"**

"**you don't remember. No you remember but you don't see." **Nagani drew herself back and bared her fangs. "**Someone has poisoned you and my master"** she growled fiercely.

"**I know what will convince you. Both you and master."** With that the great snake slithered up the stairs and to her master's bedroom. Harry heard a thump and saw the snake returning with a small box held in her coils.

* * *

><p>"where did you get these!" Harry screamed at the dark lord he no longer cared that the man could kill him. He had likely already hurt Tom.<p>

"you mistake yourself Potter. You are not a guest here. My home is not for your exploration."

"where is my friend!"

"what does a petty friend of yours have anything to do with you snooping through my affects?"

"He's not petty! And I didn't your bloody snake pulled them out! "

* * *

><p>.<strong>"you see master they are the same. How could you not see? Who poisoned you master?"<strong>

"**Dumbledore."**


	7. original ending

The war had only been over for a few hours. The injured were being healed and the dead were being collected. A few had wanted to parade the dark lord's corpse through the streets of the alleys. Harry forbade them from doing so. They weren't going to be like the ones that they had defeated. They would respect the dead.

_Mr. Harry Potter,_

_At the defeat of He-Who-Must-No- Be-Named several manors that were not previously documented appeared we would like you and your choice of team to analyze their contents._

_Sincerely_

_Seamus J. Dobody_

_Head of Ministry Public Relations_

* * *

><p>"Mate that was parseltounge, I thought that was gone with the scar?"<p>

"so did I. but I will probably make things easier."

"Hows that?"

"Its Voldemort's manor Ronald. He took pride on being a parselmouth. Please use your common sense."

* * *

><p>"Harry, what are these?"<p>

"I don't know they look like letters and pictures ."

"Harry this was that picture of you when I got you to cross dress in our fifth year."

"'You mean Voldemort saw that!"

"no harry that's just it, the picture looks old now I think … I think Tom Riddle saw it."

"Tom." Harry froze and his eyes seemed to glass over. All his memories of the other boy rushed through his mind, the haze over them had lifted. The room around them began to feel suffocating with his realization.

"My friend Tom. He… he was Voldemort." The dark haired boy whispered it felt as though his soul was being drowned in a bucket of ice.

"I'm really sorry about this Harry but it's necessary."

"wha?"

"_Somnus_." With that Harry passed out.

Hermione looked at her now sleeping friend and a memory that she had never had flashed in her mind.

_They were in the forest, just the two of them and the locket. The locket stopped singing to Harry and Riddle looked up at her._

"_keep him safe."_

"_why would you want him safe."_

"_because he reminds me of someone." The portrait looked away from her._

"_you are Harry's best friend Tom aren't you?"_

"_I was once."_

"_then why don't you tell him?"_

"_it wouldn't do any good. The mind web he is under would never allow him to believe me if I did. It is only by speaking to him under the web that it is my friend. That he is my Harry."_

"_what will you do then?"_

"_I will die. There is no other option left the older form of me inherited the web. Neither of them would _

"why did you do that?"

"Ron he just found out that his first friend and the person he loves is You-Know-Who. I saw it right then ,he was in pain he was bottling it up if he exploded his magic could have killed us all. I'll keep him like this until he can cope.

"there's some more pictures in here. You know I never thought about it before but Harry really does look like a girl. OH SHIT!"

"what is it?"

"it's a picture of Harry in the shower."

"that must have been what picture Harry said Colin was being punished for. Strange that he kept tht picture even though he punished colin for it."

"Hey there are unopened ones here You might want to look at them."

_Harry,_

_Please tell me you are safe there was blood on your last letter. What happened?_

_Tom_

"He seemed worried. This must have been from Harry's inheritance."

_Harry,_

_Please if you are even alive please write to me I am worried about you. _

_Tom_

"He wasn't worried, he was terrified of loosing Harry. I think Harry might have been Tom Riddle's only friend.

_Harry,_

_God damn you woman I love you please be all right. I haven't even been able to find you scrying. If this letter returns unopened as well I will give up but if you read it if you ever get it I love you Harry._

_With all my heart,_

_Tom_

"He didn't just care about Harry, he really loved him. Even if he thought Harry was a girl."

"well with the pictures he sent him it's no wonder. He looked like a bleeding girl as a kid. He really doesn't look like a man at all until he wears his school clothes and even then he's kind of girly. And what is with the picture with the hair. He had his towel wrapped like a girl too."

"I thought he might have thought something like that. I imagine that he thought he was a boy from his name and started thinking he was a girl after he saw Harry's picture."

"Did he ever send Harry pictures of him?"

"of coarse Harry keeps them all in his trunk why don't we take this box back with us and look everything over later."

* * *

><p>"You-Know-Who looked like that as a kid! Its no wonder Harry liked him."<p>

"Yes Tom Riddle is quite a handsome boy."

"oh mum would have a heart attack if she knew that she had made You-Know-Who a Weasley sweater."

"it is a strange thought." Hermione leafed through more of the pictures, stopping when she saw one that made her blush violently.

"wow…just wow. I didn't know you would have a picture like this Harry." Hermione looked over at the still sleeping boy.

"I am officially disturbed, both Harry and You- Know- Who had wank pictures of each other. " Hermione rolled her eyes at her red haired friend.

The book had many enchantments on it but even more seemed to now be dead. It seemed with the true death of the Dark Lord his curses had lifted. A great many of them had probably been tied to his very soul so that even if he was rendered without a body they would still be active.

Hermione read through Voldemort's diary and where it began was far from where it ended. The man had had a long and full life. But he never seemed to get over Harry and his supposed death.

_I am going to change this world no witch or wizard will suffer like she did. No one will meet her fate. Muggles cant be allowed to be involved anymore. Her uncle may count his lucky stars I couldn't find her. Because if I did then he would have taken her place. Oh Harry my heart hurts for you. I am going to live, I'm going to live for both of us now. I'm going to make things better._

Tears stained this page of the diary. It seemed that Harry was one of his reasons for doing what he had but what she was curious about was that he didn't seem to want to kill muggles at that point only Harry's uncle. He wanted separation but not genocide.

_I met the man who sired me last night. First I met my mother's brother, a belligerent, stupid man. I saw his memories of how he treated my mother. I hated him for it that foul man both he and his father were as cruel to my mother as Harry's uncle was to her. Both of the women that matter to me met the same fate. They were abused and hated, my mother escaped but still she died. Harry couldn't escape. I wonder if she would have died as my mother had if she could have escaped, if she could have come to me. Would I have been as foul as my father and abandon her and a child of mine? I don't even know, I met him last night. I went to little Hangleton, to their manor. It was so different from the shack of my mother's family. I knocked on the door and his mother, my own grandmother answered it. She invited me inside and my father came down to meet me. He wasn't surprised or even angry to see me, like in my dreams. No he was indifferent he didn't care that I went through hell, he didn't care that I was his son. He just didn't care. That made it worse, I killed him. He struck me and I killed him, him and his parents. I blamed their death on Morfin, he can rot in Azkaban for what he did to my mother._

_I turned my diary and my uncle's ring each into a horcrux. The diary my Harry gave to me. I had done many things to it before then. All those little whimsical ideas she spoke to me about fueled it. Before it was a horcrux it was a pesive with a few personality quirks of my own. When I poured my soul into it, it gained sentience. I've engenered it to be able to reserect itself, to take magic and lifeforce from the one writing in it. Honestly I'm not even entirely sure what is left that could destroy it, acid, fire, water, physical harm, I covered all of them it seemed._

_I cant stay in Britain anymore Hezabeth Smith's death was too much for me it made me think of Harry's. at least the old woman died softly I know Harry wouldn't have had that luxury. I killed the old woman; she was in possession of my mother's locket the only thing I have to connect with the woman who gave me life, other than the blood that runs in my veins. _

_I was thinking about my mother last night while I held that locket then I thought of Harry, my beautiful Harry if only I could have met her face to face at least once . I thought of her and how beautiful her children would have been had she lived to have any. I wish I had been brave enough to ask my friend to be mine while she was alive._

_I fell in love with someone I had never even met once. _

_Harry would have loved Albainia it's a beautiful place she would have loved to see the dragon reserves. I remember her letter about the adventure she had with the baby dragon. I can almost imagine what it would have been like to have her here with me. I can imagine her exploring the forests with me. She always seemed so strong in her letters. I always felt loved when I read them I wish she was still alive so if nothing else I might have that feeling again. I miss my friend, not even missing her as a lover I miss her as my friend most, she was the one I could tell all my secrets to. Once I had wanted to marry her and grow old together. I was seventeen and young and so in love then my dream shattered I'm twenty-two now and I'm jaded and a murderer and I'm still in love with the girl of my dreams. How sick is it that only the dead really know me, and not the bastard that the world sees. _

_I retrieved Ravenclaw's diadem from its hiding place. I made another kill to fuel this horcrux, a starving beggar man he was close to dying anyway. Perhaps I can take some solace in the fact that he would have died even if I had not killed him._

_I have gathered followers to help me fix our world. Most of them I went to Hogwarts with. Most of them also have various jobs in the ministry. That would be a good place to start changing things. They are corrupt and have been for several decades. They speak of equality and all that rot but they persecute dark wizards for simply having dark aligned magic. They don't consider most intelligent creatures beings therefore Veela, Werewolves, and others like them have no rights in the eyes of the state. They prevent children from using magic at their homes to protect the muggles, event though it's the children that are in danger. I did a study of muggle borns and those raised in the muggle world, unfortunately I found that mine and Harry's cases were not unique, 65% of them faced some manner of abuse whether it was physical, emotional, or mental. The most infuriating part of muggle borns is that they bring that world's ideas into ours. I still remember my shock when I was young and found that there is no such thing as child abuse in the wizarding world, or rather there didn't use to be. Much of that has changed. Apparently only old purebloods remember now that a child frightened of its parents will have magic lash out._

_Abraxaus gives me these looks sometimes, he knows what I went through when I lost Harry. I think that he believes he is sympathetic. But I wont let him, after having my heart ripped open by losing her I wont let anyone that close again. Though I don't believe it would matter if I did or not. Since she died I have felt empty, like caring for her and worring for her had taken up part of my heart. It feels like they were cut out of me._

_Avery suggested in order to solve the problems with muggles we could eliminate them by area. While culling towns of muggles would work to push back the population from ours it wouldn't make a dent in their total population. There must be a way to eliminiate larger numbers without exposure._

_We preformed a raid last night, but it ended differently than all others, there was a child there, a young witch. She was powerful but… god the way we found her disgusts me. She was three years old and her care takers, I will never justify calling those things her parents, had done things to her to get rid of her __**Freakishness**__ they called it. God that little girl wont ever be right. I killed her caretakers and gave her to Cynagus Black, he and his wife blood adopted her so she is as pure as they are in blood now. But her mind I think will always be a little broken. We named her, that little girl, she had no name of her own. We named her Bellatrix. Because that is what she is she's a warrior. as young as she is she fought to keep living, she is a ward of the death eaters our little Lady Warrior. _

Hermione cringed as she read in between the lines of Bellatrix Lestrange's past. After something like that and thirteen years in Azkaban reliving it. It was a piece of mercy that she was dead now. It made sense as to the way she clung to Voldemort, he saved her and she spent her entire life trying to thank him for it.

_My horcruxes are soon to be complete. My father's murder to my diary, my grandparents to the ring, Hezabeth to the locket, a whore to the cup, a begger to the diadem. My last should be something special something to house the last piece of my soul. I wish I had something of Harry's it would have been fitting, but all I have of her are faded photographs and worn letters. Not even memories to fall back on. After she died I tried many times to take a woman to bed with me but I found every time I felt guilt as if I were betraying her. I would imagine it was her and it would be her name I'd call, naturally I suppose this pissed off my bed partners. I stopped that nonsense long ago now. I'll be turning forty-one in two months time I really should have move on from her now._

Hermione almost felt sorry for the Dark Lord, he may have acted the part of the uncaring bastard but it seemed than in the beginning at least he didn't aim to destroy their world.

_Bellatrix is furious and cursing everything in sight right now, for twenty two year old she has no control of her emotions. But I will never blame her for that. She is in a blind fury over her baby sister Andromeda marrying a muggle man. Andromeda is pregnant and muggles are the reason Bella can never have a child. After being told of it she crucioed the man. Andromeda was never told of Bellatrix's past but I believe Bella views it as a betrayal. Now she is trying to torture Rudolfus Lestrange perhaps stunning her would be a good idea soon._

_This is getting out of hand don't they realize that defending the muggles will kill more wizards. Damn Dumbledore for forcing my hand, he would eradicate all dark wizards if he could then there would be no magic. The balance would be disrupted. He thinks muggles are like pets cute and harmless. The old fool never once realized what they would do to us. _

_There was a prophecy made about one being able to destroy me, I cant let that happen I have a war to settle and a corrupt government left to uproot._

_It feels good to be able to write again. However disgusting my body is now I feel good to have one. The night I attacked the Potters was disastrous I killed the father and the mother begged but she wouldn't move I still feel guilty that she had to die. I imagine my Harry would have done the same. My Harry, my first friend and only one I have ever loved. She had a beautiful mind and a big heart. God I miss her that hurt never went away it just became a old wound on my heart. Of coarse Dumbledore believes me not to have a heart but it doesn't matter he and Potter shall be taken care of soon enough. But damn if that boy doesn't remind me of Harry every time I see him they even share the same name. The fates are cruel if they really did bring back my Harry in this way. Maybe that's why he still lives because he looks so much like her that I hesitate every time. _

_When I first saw him as a baby I wondered if Harry and I had ever had children if he was what they would look like. Perhaps it is simply his coloring that I see her in. perhaps it is his name I don't care anymore I just want him to step out of the way. He doesn't even know what he fights for but still he fights I feel a pain in my heart when I think about it if it had been my Harry that was so manipulated that she would fight and never know why I would cry for her I would plead like a dog for her to at least ask why she was fighting. But for all I know he has asked as was lied to or perhaps he asked and was told the truth and I've become too much of a monster. I don't even have enough of a soul left to be sent to heaven or hell. Once or twice when I was a spirit I thought of my Harry sitting in a heaven with snow white wings waiting for her Tom to come meet her. But I know that I will never meet that beautiful woman who sang to my soul with her letters as a child. _

_When I met the boy again his first year of Hogwarts I confronted him in front of that blasted mirror. When I looked into the mirror all I could see was Tom Riddle and Harry with children and even a grandchild, Tom Riddle dignified and handsome with grey streaked temples and Harry, my Harry alive and grown and so beautiful. There is a reason they say that mirror could drive men mad. I know that after my mission is complete there will be no place for me. Because my perfect world was lost fifty years ago._

_Apparently my horcrux met the boy in his second year I have no idea what might have transpired then but obviously it failed._

_I had no hand in his third year as I wasn't even in the same country. But that was the year wormtail came to me. After that the oaf nursed me to a physical form with a golem and revived me with a ritual. Which leaves me where I am now in a disgusting parody of being human. _

_I found a little while ago that Bellitrix tortured the Longbottom woman and her husband in my name but did not have the decency to end their lives. At the very least I have given the people I have taken the lives of a quick death to end their suffering. Azkaban has striped Bella of what sanity she clung to. Only these morons that make up my ranks and Potter have ever felt tortured by my wand. _

_Its my seventieth birthday. Damn I feel old. Old and worn out, this war has been going on so long now I almost forget sometimes what I'm fighting for. When I was young I never imagined this. I only thought of meeting Harry one day, of fixing our world. Hell back then I probably thought I would be a grandfather by now strange the things one thinks as a child and the things that come to pass. Times like this make me wonder what I would have done if she had lived. Would we have met? Would I have married her? Become a father? Or would she have found some man close to her to fill her life. Would she have gone on with her life and forgotten her dear friend Tom after escaping her childhood nightmare? God I am drunk right now._

_What would Harry think of me now? Now that so many have died in my attempts to get Dumbledore to see reason. We cant allow the muggles to know about us but the old fool forces them to see our wars my followers are getting more and more fanatical and brazen showing the muggles that we exist. It's like a boulder going down a hill now I don't think this will go on much longer. One way or another this war will end. I grow so weary of fighting, of the dead, of the screams, our cause is lost and my fighters are mad perhaps they have been all along and I was just too blind to see it. Harry forgive me, I couldn't save our world. I will die soon I know it now, no more souls to protect me, I will make one last stand. I will die on the grounds of the only place that was ever home to me. Perhaps I will meet you in the land of the dead. Even after all these years I still love you my Harry._

Hermione cried as she read the last entry of the Dark Lord's journal. Even till the end he was still in love with Harry and he never knew that his love and enemy were the same person. '_I will set this right and none will have died. Oh the Unspeakables will have a field day if they knew what I am about to do.'_ With that thought in mind she picked up a quill and parchment and began writing.

_Tom,_

_ This is Hermione, _

_Harry is safe now. I'm sorry if you were worried but Hedwig was killed. This was Harry's godfather's owl his name is Cerino. Careful he bites. Harry's uncle did a lot of damage but Harry is safe and well now. Please send him a letter, something, anything will do. Harry's in a really bad depression right now and needs a friend. Me and Ron can only do so much. I know that you are Harry's best friend. After all how could you not be as long as the two of you have been in contact? Just contact Harry and say that you are still there._

_Hermione._

As she finished her writing she hoped that whatever magic had been involved to allow Harry to write Tom was still in effect. With that hope in mind she called to her owl, Cerino to deliver the letter to Tom.

"Cerino please deliver this letter to Harry's pen pal Tom." Her owl looked at her sternly before he tipped his head in a nod. With that Cerino flew out the window in a flurry of feathers. She stood and went to talk to Harry about her plan.

* * *

><p>Tom was preparing to leave the orphanage to see his family when he heard a rustling of wings and a tapping at his window. He turned to see a large tawny owl at his window. He let the bird in and took the letter from it, not before being tagged by it's beak though.<p>

"Thank god." Tom whispered as he held to Hermione's letter like a lifeline. The handsome tawny owl, Cerino, looked like he would roll his eyes if he could. He puffed his chest and ruffled his feathers before taking off through the window.

Hours later after had missed dinner, Martha came up to his room. Tears still rolled down his cheeks but he did nothing to stop them. His mind was in chaos and turmoil.

"Tom sweet heart what's the matter?" Martha walked over to the crying teenager. She knew her boy would never cry, he hardly did it as a baby. She knew it had to be something to do with Harry. She was the only one he would ever shed a tear for.

"Tom did something happen to Harry?"

"She's alive." He murmured.

"Tom did something happen to her?" Martha asked again, she worried about Tom and for him to be like this meant ill for anyone.

"I thought her uncle had really killed her this time. There was blood on her letter."

"oh sweetie. Come here." Martha pulled the normally distant teen close, with the state he was in he didn't even resist. He was emotionally drained. All the emotions he never used, the ones that were barely even present when he wasn't writing Harry, had burst inside of him.

* * *

><p>Harry woke up to Cerino(the demon owl) pecking his arm, the ornery bird only pecked harder when it realized that he was awake.<p>

"alright alright I'm up." Harry took the letter carefully from Cerino's talons so the evil bird wouldn't catch him.

_Harry,_

_Hermione contacted me. Don't you dare stop eating again I don't care how depressed you get you need to eat. I am still here for you. Never ever forget that I am here for you and I will always look after you as best as I can._

_If Hedwig was killed you could collect her frost and she will revive I don't know if she will recover her glamour but you would have your familiar back. If you get this please come to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, I want you safe I am seventeen now and I can get a flat and a job after I graduate I don't want you to be in danger anymore. I will help you though whatever this is._

_Love,_

_Tom_

Harry read Tom's letter and even knowing the man his first friend would become he still felt giddy, his friend was still with him, the had someone that never turned away from him and always wanted him safe. Tom's letter lifted his spirits, his friend was alive and well in his own time. This happy thought lifted him out of his depression slightly. A small smile had formed on his face when he heard a knock on his doorframe.

"Mr. Potter."

"yes?"

"as a representative of the DMLE I would like to extend the offer of becoming an Auror."

"I'm sorry sir, but I have seen enough war. I don't want to spend the rest of my life in it."

"Mr. Potter I'm afraid that refusal is not an option. It is for the public relations that you must do this you give the people hope. After all you vanquished He-Who-Must-Not- Be- Named."

A chill ran down Harry'es spine at the cold careless reminder that he had taken the life of his best friend.

"fine I'll do it." A smile spread across the ministry representative's face before he turned and left.

Harry turned back to Tom's letter he still had it clutched in his hand. This was a new beginning, Tom was still alive and if Hermione was right then his future was no longer set. His future became unwritten when he received her letter.

Tom was seventeen and just about to start his seventh year, still it was too late for myrtle but he might be in time to save Tom's father even though the man deserved it. Forcing himself out of his depression even further he wrote his friend. His ever wonderful friend.

* * *

><p><em>Hi Tom,<em>

_What glamore did Hedwig have she was just an owl a beautiful and intelligent snowy owl but still just an owl. And I will ask Hermione about me coming to Hogwarts with you. I've already missed a lot of my seventh year so maybe I can make it up there._

_Your friend,_

_Harry_

* * *

><p><em>'perhaps she never knew about Hedwig's other form. It would most defiantly surprise her to know it then' <em>Tom smirked and picked up a quill.

_Harry,_

_Hedwig was a ice phoenix she when dying would be able to rebirth herself but from frost instead of ash like a fire phoenix. If you go to the place where she died and call for her I'm sure that she will return to you._

_Tom_

* * *

><p><em>Thanks for everything Tom.<em>

_I have a few things to finish here before I can meet you. It will be over in two weeks time._

_ Anyway the mirror included is a recording of me and Hermione's trip through Diagon Alley to get me new clothes she thought it was funny so she recorded it and wanted you to see it. I don't really get what was so funny._

Tom looked at the mirror in question and studied it for a moment before his reflection changed it showed Harry and a curly haired girl in Diagon alley. Harry was still wearing her cousin's clothing but it seemed the one he supposed was Hermione was soon to remedy this. Tom was pleased that it was being taken care of he knew Harry needed her own clothing and now that she was out of her relatives ' house she would have something that was her own.

Tom watched as the pair of them wandered through the shops Harry had her hair drawn into a braid that reached the middle of her back. They walked into one store he didn't recognize but he continued watching then he realized what he was watching Harry came out of the changing room wearing what appeared to be leather trousers, very tight…leather… trousers. She turned around to display them seeming to ask Hermione for her opinion. The fuzzy haired witch smirked by this point Tom was sure that she was evil sending this to him. After Harry purchased several sets of similar trousers and shirts they started wandering again. They ended up wandering into a dress shop. To watched as she tried on several dresses but his eyes were glued to her as she came out wearing a strapless black ball gown with pale green ribbons lacing the sides and front of the top, it was obvious that there was padding in it as Harry didn't have much in the way of breasts. But that didn't stop him from staring at his friend. Hermione mouthed something and Harry put her hands up to her earlobes, apparently it was a suggestion of getting her ears pierced. Hermione opened her mouth again and said something, what ever it was caused the dark haired girl to blush deeply, '_she looks rather cute like that.' _Tom thought as he continued watching their outing.

At the end of the memory he indeed felt very hot and bothered but he still had a few things to do in preparation for Harry's arrival. Most important being permission from the Headmaster.

* * *

><p>"Headmaster Dippit I would like to request for a student to be able to transfer to Hogwarts."<p>

"a transfer? Merlin we haven't had one of those in ages. What year will this person be in?"

"my friend will be in her seventh year."

"if you can give me her paperwork I don't see any problem with this but you will have to make sure she is caught up with her classes.

"very well headmaster."

* * *

><p>"Hi Tom." Tom's mouth went dry as he saw his friend in person for the first time. She was just as beautiful as her pictures indicated. Her voice was warm and soft with a tenor to it, he quite enjoyed the sound of it.<p>

"Harry." Tom held her close. Harry was actually quite small being 5'5" at the most to Tom's 6'3". In short she fit very well into Tom's arms.

"I'm glad you're here." He whispered in her hair as he hugged her.

"I'm glad too, I thought you hated hugs."

"With everything you put me thorough you deserve a hug and I could use one from you."

"ha ha ok, but really why?"

"Because you, my friend, scared at least five years off my life, I thought your uncle had killed you." Tom said exasperatedly he looked down at Harry to see her face her smile had gone leaving a small frown in its place.

"He almost did. If it weren't for Ron and Hermione I would have died."

"did you enjoy your shopping trip with Hermione?"

"yeah it was the first time I had gotten any clothes for myself that weren't for school. It was kind of fun."

"I do hope you got that lovely black dress you tried on, it looked quite stunning on you."

"she didn't… I knew I should have asked what memory she was putting in that mirror she was laughing evilly while she did it I should have known."

"yes your friend showed me the memory of you going dress shopping but you didn't answer me my friend."

"well..erm.. yes.. but."

"Never mind you shouldn't get so embarrassed. But you know you look rather cute when you blush."

"Toooom!" The blush across Harry's face doubled almost instantly.

"Is there anywhere you would need to go before I take you to Hogwarts?"

"No I don't need to do that now I can go to Gringotts during the weekend cant i?"

"We could come to the village and I can apperate you there."

"You are far too pleased with yourself to be able to apperate aren't you."

"And your not cause you cant do it yet."

"Ah Tom, just give you red hair and freckles and you could be Fred or George apperating across rooms."

"I'm not that lazy."

"No but it was a funny image. And I can too apperate magical transportation just hates me."

"right the floo incident I believe."

"and portkeys, and anything that doesn't fly."

"

* * *

><p>"you must be Harry. I must say you are even more beautiful in person than in Tom's pictures of you." At this Harry blushed deeply. Dealing with pureblood was always somewhat acward coming from a muggle background, they were far more open with their preferences than muggles.<p>

"That is enough Abraxaus." Tom was glaring malevolently at the Malfoy heir.

"Fine. Fine. Just remember dear that if you ever tire of our lovely Head boy you have someone else to turn too."

"I think I'll be alright Tom's a really good friend and he's fun to talk to." Harry smiled at Draco's grandfather.

Harry's words made Tom's mind back track for a moment, she wasn't interested in Abraxuas at all apparently, this was good.

* * *

><p>"Oi Riddle is this your girl?"<p>

"that is not your concern Avery."

"well little girl if you want to have fun sometime let me know." The other boy gave a smirk that he must have thought was being sexy even though it really wasn't.

"do not call me a girl you don't know me and even if I was a girl I don't think I'd want to know you. Tom is my friend you jackass."

"SHIT! You're a bloke?" Harry glared at the other boy who was quickly getting on his nerves.

"Yes I'm a boy!"

"I really hate when people think I'm a girl it's the seeker's build but I've seen pictures of my dad and he had more of a build than I do. It's really annoying." Harry turned to look at Tom who had gone quiet.

"You thought I was a girl?"

"…" The normally composed boy looked at his friend still stunned his mind in turmoil.

"How long? How long have you thought I was a girl?"

"Since you sent me that picture when we were seven."

"Ten years!"

"Yes. I'll show you to your rooms and you'll meet the headmaster later to be sorted." There was no emotion to Tom's voice as he spoke

* * *

><p>"<strong><em>I've sorted you before. Yet I haven't. Interesting and you forced your way into Godric's house, a brave move to do but you are defiantly one of Salizar's children even if you are Godric's heir. Always hiding what others shouldn't know. You have changed so much and yet so little since I sorted you first. But no matter I wont let you get away with that this time, dimension hopper."<em>**

**_"SLYTHERIN!"_**

"damn." Harry muttered glaring at the hat. How did that thing know he had been sorted before?

* * *

><p>"What's wrong Tom you look like someone just slapped you in the face and walked away."<p>

"I seem to have made an error on my part."

"An error?"

"I have thought my best friend was a woman for years now, and while thinking such I fell in love with said friend."

"I see well he may be mad at you for assuming that he was a woman but if you play your cards right you could still have him then who knows, instead of having a beautiful wife you could have beautiful husband to be the mother of your children. Or father depending on which you prefer."

"What?"

"Oh yes that's right your muggle raised so you wouldn't know. Wizards can get pregnant as well so there has never been any fuss about liking men. Though you may have to convince Harry somewhat I think he may not understand what you meant by saying you love him."

"Harry could still be mine." Tom felt giddy inside even though his face was passive.

"Oh and Tom you might want to consider the fact that even if he is a man Harry has the body of a woman. He could have anyone he wanted but he doesn't seem to be aware that he is attractive; He's obviously never had a relationship before. Even if he has his little stalker bitch that's no relationship."

* * *

><p>"You're Harry right? Tom's …kid." The boy obviously couldn't figure out whether to call him a girl or a boy. Harry's eyebrow twitched in annoyance. Unbeknownced to the pair of them Tom had just come up behind them he almost snorted at the fact that he wasn't the only one who was unsure of Harry's gender.<p>

"I am."

"There's something you should know about Riddle. He's a bad guy if you stay with him he's just going to hurt you. He's dark as they come behind all those smiles and pretty face. He's a monster."

"I know." Tom's heart froze at the simple words that came from Harry's mouth. He knew. He agreed that he was a monster. With that Tom turned and ran.

"Then you'll leave him alone? I mean it would be great someone as cute as you could really get hurt with a bloke like that."

"I know very well who and what Tom is and probably better than anyone what he has done. But you know what even if he's an asshole he's my best friend in the world."

"your not gonna leave him. Your not gonna leave that monster."

"Tom is no monster. Because if he is then so am i."

* * *

><p>"Tom can I talk to you?"<p>

"I am quite busy."

"oh ok. Do you know about when you will be done?"

"no."

"oh." Tom's short clipped responses were painful for Harry to hear.

"alright then I'll let you do your work

* * *

><p>"are you alright Harry?"<p>

"I'm fine."

"you don't look fine. You look like you have been crying."

"Tom hasn't spoken to me once since he found out I was a boy. Apparently he had been under the impression that I was a girl since we were seven."

"I see but surely that cant be a reason to cry. Tom always said that you were very resilient and that you found tears to be pointless."

"they are pointless they don't solve anything but sometimes it makes me feel better not to have it inside."

"I see."

"I was crying because I realized that my best friend in the world might have only been my friend because he thought I was a girl who needed a good cry for a sob story life."

"I don't think Tom could ever think that about you. I think facing what little I know of your life was very brave of you and not many could have done it. I think perhaps Tom was simply startled by the fact."

"I really like Tom but I don't know if he could like me. Especially now that I know he thought I was a girl all along."

* * *

><p>"damn it Cerino." Harry swore at the owl that bit him said owl hopped across the table to Tom who just looked at the bird who was holding out its leg waiting for him to take the bait.<p>

* * *

><p><em>Hello Tom,<em>

_I am sorry to hear about your troubles with Harry, and I'm sorry for leading the both of you on I knew that you thought he was a girl and I know he likes you. But I also know a few things that you would be interested in._

_For a man Harry defiantly has a woman's taste. When allowed to pick what he wants to wear he ends up looking very sexy even if he doesn't know it. (as proven by our shopping trip after he recovered.) _

_Another thing, since the betting incident he has had a secret compartment in his trunk that has women's clothing all of which looks rather stunning on him. Having been his confident on this I have to say that you are probably getting the best of both worlds when it comes to looks. But Harry is and has always been woefully oblivious to the fact that he is attractive. You'll just have to make him see it._

_Harry is also, despite what he shows everyone, very clever. On that note don't let him try to make himself look dumber to make people like him. It took me two years to realize what he was doing. Don't let him do it there he is one of the most magically capable people I have ever met._

_Something you might like to know as well is that Harry does in fact enjoy the Dark arts. He will never admit it to someone like Ron or our professors who are strongly light biased but he doesn't care I know that you enjoy them and are well versed in them I think he wouldn't mind you talking about them with him in fact you two could probably help each other very well _

_He is the best person anyone could ask for. Take good care of him for me Tom he's my friend too._

_Hermione_

* * *

><p>"EXPECTO PATRONAM!" a silver stag sprang forth from his wand and drove the dementor back<p>

"are you alright Tom?"

Tom listened to the soft voice of his friend, he was still astounded even after knowing that his friend was male his voice was still soft and warm enough to be a woman's. Tom wanted to hold him close but he resisted Harry had hurt him deeply, he would not let that go not at all.

"Are you talking to me again? Are you talking to the monster?"

"Yes I am because you are my best friend."

"And I thought you were mine."

"I am Tom, I…"

"Save it I heard you and Potter talking."

"Potter? Oh Tom you heard that."

"Yes I heard you say that I am a monster."

"You left after you heard that didn't you?"

"I didn't need to hear anymore of your betraying me."

"Tom if you stuck around you would of heard something else."

"I said it doesn't matter."

"Yes it does, after that I said I knew you were a monster, I know you better than anyone else. I said that even if you were a monster you were my best friend in the world. And I told him that you could never be a monster to me because if you are then so am I."

"you are no monster, Harry. "

"are you done ignoring me?"

"I am sorry."

"yeah so am I, I'm still kind of mad you thought I was a girl but you were my first friend Tom. I was worried that you were only friends with me cause you thought I was a girl."

"Harry I have been in love with your mind for years. If I liked you just because I thought you were a woman I don't think I would have been nearly as interested or have waited so long for you."

"you like me?

"you are the only one I have ever wanted Harry. And yes I like you, a rather lot I'd think." _'who would have thought, the dark lord loved someone.'_ Then Harry remembered the diary from his second year. A thick blush coated his face when he realized that in a round about way Tom had already told him how he felt and he had never noticed.

"you are the only thing that matters to me Harry."

"I sort of liked you too for a while now. But I thought it would make you feel awkward."

"you are ever so innocent Harry."

A deep, sad, emptiness filled Harry's eyes. "no Tom I'm really not. I've killed and watched people die for me. I'm a soldier Tom."

"

* * *

><p><em>Hello Tom,<em>

_As to your question. Harry is a defensive prodigy, literally mind you he would never claim that title himself but he is. He mastered a fully corporeal patronus charm in our third year. In three weeks he completed the Auror training coarse and took the mastery test for defense. A mastery test is very similar to OWLs and NEWTs but its of a higher degree. Ironically even though he got an O on it and obtained the certification I don't think I've ever seen him do higher than school level spells. In fact when he was staying with Ron and I after everything happened he did a great deal of things the muggle way still. But that's the way he is he tries so hard not to stand out in the crowd _

* * *

><p>"why did you never tell me?"<p>

"tell you what?"

"you completed Auror training."

"I really didn't have the choice they wanted me to do it. that's why it took so long to get here."

"and the mastery?"

"Hermione told you?

"yes now tell me everything including why you didn't tell me in the first place."

"I told you I didn't really want to do it. The mastery either actually. I was forced to take a mastery test after the Auror training. Because everyone who takes Auror training has to have a mastery in something.

"Harry the average age for taking Auror training is twenty five to thirty-five. They get their masteries _before_ they do the training."

* * *

><p>"Mr. Riddle is something wrong?"<p>

"nothing ma'am I was simply amazed by something my friend neglected to mention before."

"would you like to share with the class what it is that has you so distracted."

Harry saw the calculating look in Tom's eyes, he knew he had already lost.

"yes ma'am, apparently Harry. Completed a defense mastery and was certified to it."

Professor Merrythwort looked at the green eyed boy in amazement.

"did you really?"

"um yes… but."

"my dear that is quite incredible I must ask though if you have already taken your mastery then why are you here?"

"I didn't get to finish my seventh year at my school. Circumstances prevented it. Tom offered for me to come here so I could and I took him up on that." At this point Harry was bright red in the face. But Tom decided that the end result of others knowing about Harry's capabilities was better for him in the long run.

* * *

><p>"why did you have to go and do that?" Harry asked still sporting a bright red blush at the end of the class.<p>

"you shouldn't hide. It will open more doors to you if don't hide what you can do."

"it's embarrassing. I didn't want anyone to know because it would draw attention to me. "

* * *

><p>"Harry, what is that?"<p>

"a favor." He said simply as he smirked at his boyfriend.

"what kind of favor?" slight jealousy coated his voice not that harry ever noticed it.

"the someone owes me a life debt several times over kind." He smiled.

"what is it then?"

Harry sighed and opened the box, inside was a shimmering iridescent egg the size of an American football.

"Harry that's a dragon's egg. Why in Merlin's name do you have one? They are illegal. You of all people should know that."

"Only without permit. Which is included. And I'm not giving him a dangerous one."

"_Him." _Tom's eyes narrowed.

"Yes, _him_. Don't worry so much Tom I'm including a few other things too you know. The books to take care of it with. And a owl correspondence schooling certificate so he could finish his schooling."

"Hagrid."

"yes Tom, you know the fourteen year old that is as tall as most grown men." Harry remarked cheekily.

"I know who Hagrid is!" he hissed. "Why are you doing this?"

"Because he deserves a chance. And if he has the least dangerous version of the pet he wants he will be less inclined to go after the particularly dangerous ones. Like acrumantualas." Harry raised his brow at Tom who not feeling the slightest bit of remorse for the incident.

"The monster killed a girl. He would have been found eventually with or without my intervention."

"Tom." Harry stood up and hugged him. "Tom don't ever lie to me, I don't care what you did just don't lie to me, its in the past now you cant undo it even if I want you to."

"What are you talking about?"

"I have two words for you. Basilisk and Pipes." Tom's face paled almost instantly. Harry wasn't supposed to know about that. He knew that Harry wouldn't have approved when he did it.

"I know what you did Tom I still don't know why. But I know that I can't change it. But please never do anything like that again. The kids at the orphanage I could always understand they had hurt you. But I don't understand why you did that."

"They were muggleborns, born of muggles they were going to damage our world."

"They were also innocent." Harry whispered.

Tom sighed he knew Harry wouldn't understand this. "Explain to me why you think Hagrid deserves a chance."

"Because his expulsion kept you out of hot water. You owe him." Tom scowled he didn't particularly like owing anyone anything.

"If I let you do this what do I get out of it?" Harry looked thoughtful for a moment. "What do you want?" Tom smirked, he knew exactly what he wanted.

"Just a kiss." Harry blushed and nodded he leaned up and kissed Tom's cheek. Tom however had a different idea he grabbed the smaller boy's chin and held it in place while he leaned down and kissed his friend's soft lips. His tongue slipped past them and explored that wonderful mouth

"go do your act of bleeding compassion

* * *

><p>"Riddle's y'r boyfriend aint he?"<p>

"yeah he is."

"then why'r ya helping me, be'in so nice an all. "

"because I know you are innocent."

"how can ya go an know a thin' like tha'?"

"because acrumantulas don't petrify people."

"I kno' tha' I tried ta tell' um tha' but not a one o' um listened."

"you know Tom's right though, they would have found out about it eventually. Keeping it a secret made it look worse on you."

"ya I kno'."

"I brought you something. I know it wont replace the Aragog but I think you might like it."

Hagrid opened the box and saw the egg inside. "crikey I've always wanted a dragon. How did ya' kno'?"

"I heard that you wanted one and I thought that if you had one then you might not seek out other things to fill that slot."

"But what about when 'e gets big? Wont the ministry try ta' take' 'im away?"

"Not at all I called in a favor for this egg it is completely certified. And Antipodian Opaleyes only get to be about as big as a horse they are very small dragons, and they only eat when they are hungry."

"I read 'bout 'em once. The'r the most beautiful breed o' dragon there is."

"They also speak parseltounge."

"Really?"

"Yeah Tom found a book and he told me most dragons speak it actually. It was just my rotten luck I ended up dealing with one of the two that didn't."

"Why'd 'e go and tell ya a thing like tha'?"

"Because I can speak parseltounge."

"Ya can talk ta dragons? That's bloody brilliant!"

"Wow most people I tell that to freak out and start calling me a dark wizard."

"Wha' they goin' do a thin' like tha' for?"

"Because the first known parseltounge was Salazar Slytherin. I mean there is a whole branch of magic a parselmouth can use there are wickedly powerful healing and defense spells in it. I don't understand how a language could be dark."

"tha' really don' make sense ta me either."

"Did you know that it was impossible to tell a lie in parseltounge?

"No. "

* * *

><p>"hi Tom."<p>

"hello."

"you know it's Hogsmead weekend this weekend right?" the girl batted her long eyelashes at Tom

"I am aware of it." Tom said off handedly Harry was curious as to what she was getting at; after all didn't everyone realize it was Hogsmead weekend?

"would you like to come with me?"

"I'm afraid I will be otherwise engaged."

"oh well maybe next time then."

"no I think not because you so brazenly asked me on a date in front of my boyfriend."

"WHAT!"

"I said quite clearly that I will not date you, now or in the future and I believe you owe my boyfriend an apology for being so presumptuous."

"Tom that's really not necessary she didn't know."

* * *

><p>"what are the two of you doing?"<p>

"we're looking for flats."

"why would you want a flat instead of getting a house?"

"because a flat is cheap and we don't know were we want to live yet."

"Hermione suggested that we should take a trip to Albania after we leave school apparently you would love it. I wouldn't know I've never been there." Harry said turning the page of their catalog

"perhaps we should." Tom agreed.

"Mr. Blackmoon, Mr. Riddle Please pay attention to my class."

"Yes sir great lord of lemon drops." Harry mockingly bowed to the long bearded man. Tom was having trouble trying not to laugh.

"Abraxaus poke his side."

"what?" The Malfoy heir looked incredulously at his young Lord's partner. Did he really want to die?

"he's ticklish on his ribs. He needs to learn to laugh at my funnies."

"No I am perfectly fine." Abraxaus held his hands up and clear of Tom.

"Mr. Riddle?" Dumbledore looked at Tom surprise almost evident in his eyes at seeing him be anything less than composed.

"I don't need to laugh at your horrible jokes Harry sit down."

"I will find a way to make you laugh."

"I'm sure you will." Tom said indulgently.

* * *

><p>"Harry I have to do my rounds."<p>

"Then go do your rounds."

"That's really difficult to do when I have you pressed into my groin."

"You don't seem to be minding too much."

"Oh I don't mind at all and that's the problem you are too damn beautiful to just leave here."

"I think you're cute when you're flustered."

"I don't know the meaning of the word."

"Oh it means that your hard up, sexually agitated, and or all around hot and bothered."

"Damn it I know what it means. Where did you learn to speak?"

"From muggles yelling at me. It took me about three years to do it. I was a quiet child I learned that was the safest thing to do."

"I'm sorry Harry."

"Don't be it wasn't your fault and besides being quiet helped me on my after hours adventures."

"Really and what did you do on these adventures of yours?"

"I explored the castle. I still do I now know this castle better than you do."

"You know I really should dock points for you being out of bed after hours. You shouldn't tell the headboy that you've been sneaking out of bed."

"You'd have to catch me doing it first. And I get caught very rarely."

"I love you Harry, but please I really must do my rounds."

* * *

><p>Dumbledore looked at the two boys in front of him who were completely oblivious to his presence. Tom had his back against the wall while Harry had his head resting on the other boy's chest and his arms wrapped around him. Tom's head rested on top of Harry's own and his own arms were also wrapped around the other boy.<p>

"Mr. Blackmoon, Mr. Riddle" Dumbledore spoke making the two boys jump apart.

"professor."

* * *

><p>"I think its hilarious you've been here seven years and not once have you gotten into trouble. Where as I have not only gotten into trouble at least once a year, have managed to get more detentions than anyone else in my house."<p>

"You shouldn't be so proud of that."

"Oh you would be too if you knew what they were all for, well except for potions the professor there hated my father there for me by default."

"Harry." Tom sighed exasperatedly. "just go back to your dorm and go to bed. Preferably before getting into trouble that could be classified as life threatening."

* * *

><p>"Wear women's clothing for me."<p>

"What? Why?"

"Because we are going to meet the infuriating woman that you said acts like my mother."

"Martha?"

"Yes.

* * *

><p>"you know I have wondered why you never need to shave your legs when you do this?"<p>

"Oh... Um...Magic hair removal is a little more permanent and better resulting than razors. I found out that when I first tried shaving facial hair. The disaster that was led to me looking up a spell which ended up being used when I was forced into drag by Hermione. I should have known what was about to happen when she asked me what spell I had used to shave my face."

"you don't grow a beard?"

"no, not that I really grew one to start with but I cant grow facial hair now, well not without a hair growth potion."

"so your legs will always be smooth like they are?"

"you are enjoying this way too much."

* * *

><p>"Tom your back I thought you went and got to living on your own."<p>

"Hello Martha. I am living on my own now but I brought someone with me."

"Who would you bring here?" Martha paused when she noticed a small person standing behind Tom a person with long black hair and glowing green eyes.

"Hello ma'am."

"Martha this is Harry." Tom introduced with a smirk on his handsome face.

"Oh sweetie it's wonderful to meet you. You've been the shining star in this boy's world for ten years I was so worried about him when you stopped sending letters. I've never seen my Tom look so hurt." With that the motherly woman hugged Harry close. She never even noticed the fact that Harry really didn't have breasts.

* * *

><p>"What are you laughing at?"<p>

"I can't tell you but it's hilarious.

* * *

><p><em>Hermione you would never believe me if I told you what just happened today so here is a memory of it.<em>

_P.S. read my other letter after you've watched it._

_Harry_

* * *

><p><em>I cant believe I just watched the formerly future dark lord being thwacked on the head by a mother figure. Nor can I believe that he made me cross dress to meet her. Or even better that he picked out my dress. I liked it well enough so it was ok. <em>

* * *

><p>"Tom I have to tell you something<p>

"if you weren't even from my time how did we contact each other?"

"it was magic Tom, it knew we both needed someone and it gave us each other. Hermione has been researching everything since she found out who Voldemort was. She wanted to give us both a chance.

* * *

><p>"you asked Slughorn in your sixth year how to make one. He told you murder but Myrtle's death was an accident so your fist horcrux would have been your father."<p>

"I have never met my father."

"I know Hermione changed that you got her letter and you waited for me instead. Then I came for you and we changed everything together.

* * *

><p>"but then if I made them how could the world still be this way how could I have been defeated."<p>

"they were destroyed in my world Tom, Voldemort was destroying the world and …."

"how far in the future are you from?"

"fifty five years."

* * *

><p>"Hermione has all of his notes and journals."<p>

"I would like to see them."

"alright.

* * *

><p>"you don't understand anything. I just found that the one person in the whole of the world that I love, I find that he is the one that killed me."<p>

"he didn't kill you he killed Voldemort."

"we are the same."

"then look at it from Harry's eyes, you're angry that he killed 'you'. Well he was beyond depressed when he found out that his Tom and Voldemort were the same person. I sent you that letter to keep him from slowly killing himself. He has loved you since before I even knew him. You have been his friend in ways that Ron and I could never be.

"he was a sad man inside, and all we saw was the monster that he showed the world. He had been suffering for a long time. He knew that his way had failed a long time ago. "

"I don't know what to do with this. "

"you love Harry, he loved Harry too but he never had him in his life the way you do now."

"how could I accomplish anything if I see my plans are already doomed to fail."

"you got an amazing mind, mine cant even come close and you are a dedicated man to whatever you do. Voldemort was in love with someone he knew was dead for fifty six years if you take care of Harry for me I'm sure you can do what you need to and he'll keep you strait. "

"Fine then. Explain how Harry is in my time if Voldemort never had him."

"Oh well you see we really don't share the same timeline anymore. When I sent that letter I created an alternate one, because everything that had happened between the two of you had already happened there was no way for it to do anything else." Hermione drew a 'N' shaped diagram "there could have been another timeline altogether that, maybe Harry never got your letter, or maybe you never sent one. All I know is that whatever could have been became our world in 1930, your world branched off in 1939 so while many people would still be born the same as they would have here in your future, the future is what you make it to be."

"so this" Tom drew a single straight line. "this would be whatever future would have happened if our magic hadn't delivered that letter." Hermione nodded. "and this.." he drew another line branching up from the bottom of the first. "this is your world, that began after Harry received my letter." Hermione nodded again. "and then you sent that letter to me telling me that he was safe." Tom drew another line going diagonal from the top to the bottom and a straight line going through it

* * *

><p>"you still seem sad. What's wrong Tom<p>

* * *

><p>"you shouldn't say that. Merope Riddle nee Gaunt was an amazing woman, she survived a life of hell for twenty three years. She fell in love with a man she could never have, she found an escape from her hell. Then she gave her life so her son could live. Her moral compass may not have pointed north but she was cunning .You are a worthless, pathetic creature compared to all she did. You have been pampered and waited on since the day you were born. If there is one thing I can say that came from you abandoning your wife it is that your son became a better man than you will ever be."<p>

"HARRY!"

"its nothing Tom, I've dealt with blows like that all my life from a man three times his size there is nothing anyone can do to scare me." Then Harry turned from the son to his father.

"Your son didn't come to you looking for wealth and titles he has those on his own without you, he came here to know part of his family."

"Harry." Tom held the smaller boy close.

* * *

><p>"What are you doing boy?"<p>

"don't call me boy. You left my mother because she belonged to the wizarding world, to my world, I knew when I came here that this would end poorly Harry is right I am better off without you in my life. I came here still clinging to some childish dream of knowing my father."

"I am not your father you heathen." Tom Riddle Sr. seethed.

"you're right you aren't my father, you may have sired me but you are no father of mine. I've already done better than you I've found someone I love more than life, someone I am going to marry. And if we ever have children I will never abandon them because I am not my father's son."

* * *

><p>"I'm proud of you Tom."<p>

"I meant every word."

"you mean…"

"I want to marry you. I fell in love with a little girl as a child then I met an amazing man who was more beautiful than any woman I have ever seen. I want to marry you Harry James Blackmoon Potter, My Harry."

"I think I can do that,

* * *

><p>There is one more place I would like to go now."<p>

"your uncle's."

"that's right

* * *

><p>"<strong><em>who are you?"<em>**

**_"my name is Tom Marvollo Riddle, I am Merope Gaunt's son."_**

**_"she had a child with that Muggle! Filthy halfblood polluting Salazar Slytherin's good name."_**

* * *

><p><strong><em>"who's the pretty broad?"<em>**

**_"this 'broad' knows what you are saying and will hex you thoroughly if you say it again."_**

**_"she speaks!"_**

**_"she does. She is my fiancé."_**

**_"a true lady of Slytherin. A beautiful witch who speaks the tongue."_**

**_"I am much more attracted to Tom than you sir. And as Merope was older it is her son who is the current lord Slytherin."_**

**_"so he would." _**The lazy-eyed man grunted.

* * *

><p>AN: this was the original plot ending but it has since been changed and rewritten over and over leaving you all with the other choices i have offered. mostly it was slashed because a lot of it didnt make any sense


	8. Harry sets things right

A/N: this one goes the same way as Harry going back to save Diary Tom but instead of returning to second year with his own phicical body he sends his mind back two months to when he and Hermione were hunting horcruxes with the locket in hand.

* * *

><p>'<em>I'll set this right Tom, you wont have to die.<em>

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><p>"<strong>you have a beautiful voice Tom."<strong>

"**Harry!"**

"**yeah."**

"**the web, but how?"**

"**its complicated and the web is gone now. At least for me."**

"**then we have a chance. Please go to my older self."**

"**I had already planned on it**

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><p>"<strong>Why are you here?"<strong>

"**I need to speak with Tom, Voldemort."**

"**I knew it!"**

"**what did you know?"**

"**you smell the same as my master's mate. You call him by that name. you are his mate aren't you?"**

"**no we aren't… we.. you… you never changed a bit."**

"**I was right. But you are not in luck this night master has already gone to bed."**

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><p>"<strong>Harry?"<strong> he whisperd blerily.

Harry smiled, he recognized him. **"yeah that's right. "**

"**go back to sleep Tom. I'll talk with you in the morning."** Harry ran his hand over the soft skin of the dark lord's face and down his neck.

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><p>"Potter!" anger and fear coated the dark lord's voice<p>

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><p>AN:sorry that's all i ever did of this train


	9. Tom saves Harry

Tom Saves Harry

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><p>"Take that to him Hed." Harry laid back down the only thing that kept him safe was the ring that Tom had made. He looked up painfully at the wall over his bed. But it couldn't protect him everywhere. His uncle had found that out rather quickly.<p>

As he laid on his bed his blood seeped through his shirt and darkened his threadbare sheets. His blood had been bleached from them many times over to meet his aunt's approval. He only had a little while left before Hermione's portkey would activate. He didn't think that it would save him, not this time.

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><p><em>I'm sorry Tom,<em>

_I'm not going to be able to write you much longer._

_Good bye my friend._

_Harry_

Tom felt his eyes begin to burn and sting as he read over and over that short letter. There was a splash of rust tinted brown on the parchment-it was blood, dried blood, Harry's blood.

"Bird, I know what you are you will take me to Harry."

Tom felt as though he was spun in a blizzard before it stopped as suddenly as it started.

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><p>"Tom." Harry murmured weakly.<p>

"I've got you my friend. I've got you."

"you came for me. You weren't supposed to."

"I'll aways be here for you Harry, only you."

"Me too." Tom turned to see the little pigtail and curl clad six year old watching everything carefully from a corner. Libby had clung to his shirt as Hedwig transported them.

"that's nice. You're so nice to me Tom."

"Harry don't go to sleep. You have to stay awake do you hear me?"

"Hermione's portkey."

"what is it?"

"phoenix galleon." He murmered as his head lolled to the side.

"no Harry you have to stay awake. I didn't come here to watch you die

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><p>"WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM YOU BASTARD!"<p>

'_him?'_ Tom simply rolled with the information, filing it away for later analysis

"I have done nothing to my friend."

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><p>"how did you get to me?"<p>

"Hedwig brought me to you."

"How

"you don't know do you?"

"Know what? Tom what are you talking about."

"your owl is not an owl my friend. she is a winter phoenix."

"a what?"

"a bird of illusion. They are similar to true phoenixes but are elementally aligned with ice. They are birds of fate. They can manipulate the world around them."

"is that true Hed?" Hedwig simply nodded sharply at her master while glaring at her master's suitor. He was far to smart sometimes. He would solve all of her master's problems.

"**I told you so."**

"**Hush Nagani." **Both Harry and Tom chimed.

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><p>"Who are you?"<p>

"Harry's friend, "

"a name would be nice."

"Tom, Tom Riddle."

"Agh!" harry held his head tightly in his hands

"Harry!" Tom held his friend as tears of pain rolled down Harry's face.

"You made horcruxes?"

"no. I have not."

"Tom…" Harry looked up at his friend weakly.

"but you're seventeen."

"yes I know my own age. What would your point be?"

"wait if you are really you and your seventeen then who is Voldemort?" Tom froze at that.

"what did you just say." Tom prayed that he had not heard the name he thought he had.

"I said that if you really are you who is Voldemort?"

"Harry where did you hear that name?"

"I heard it from Dumbledore."

"of course you heard it from that old goat."

"so you really are really are Voldemort." Harry whispered brokenly. His best friend was going to become the man he was supposed to kill.

"yes."

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><p>"he is a remnant. He is a copy of my existence. Hedwig brought me to you through her own power. She has been traveling through time every time you sent a letter to me. It would explain why no other owl I sent you would ever reach you."<p>

"TOM!" Harry yelled as his friend fell to his knees.

"What's wrong"

"there are two of me in one place. One of us will overwrite the other.."

"What does that mean?"

" it's a simple law of existence. There can not be more than one of the same being in the same time. That is why timeturners only last up to twenty four hours. Much longer than that and the two versions will begin to war with each other."

"so why isn't anything happening to Libby?"

"most likely there is not another version of her already occupying this time."

"which means?"

"that her duplicate died."

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><p>"he attacked the school last year. I cant go back."<p>

"I will find a way.

"you still have Hermione's timeturner correct?"

Harry looked away for a moment.

"you keep souvenirs my friend the question is not do you have it, it is where is it?"

"in my trunk. Still at the Duresley's

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><p>"this was one of his horcruxes. It was the diary I got you.<p>

"drop it into the pensive I want to see what he remembers. Perhaps that will she a little more light on this situation."

"You can do that?"

"yes, a horcrux is only a receptacle for a shard of a soul any memories it has are stored in the object."

"okay." With that Harry dropped the leather bound book into the pensive

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><p>"He is absolutely irrational. He is driven by grief. "<p>

"I really don't understand how he can not be you. he was younger but already had a horcrux."

"no the split in my soul preserved my age at the time."

"why did you kill her Tom?"

"it was an accident. The split in my soul simply means that I am aware that a death was cause by my hand. Quite honestly you probably have had more cracks in yours than I you feel guilt so much more readily than I ."

"Quarill and the Basilisk."

"yes."

"so you are saying that I could have made one of those things?"

"no. I know that you could not. A horcrux requires an absence of remorse for the death that you cause."

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><p>"my duplicate is an idiot."<p>

"I thought that he had all the knowlage that you do."

"he does, but with each horcrux made his soul looses stability. He may have lucid moments but for the most part he is traped in his own mind. He is constantly reminded of the day that letter arrived with it and with out the option of coming to you he has been drowning in grief. His horcruxes were made in an attempt to escape that pain."

"why would I affect him so much?"

"because, you are the only person I have ever cared for.

"you and I are going back to Hogwarts."

"what! How?"

"on the train with everyone else."

"how exactly do you plan on doing that. I'm kind of high on the dead or alive list."

"Raven Thomas."

"that is an alias Tom."

"and so is this."

"but I am not a girl."

"it will only take a few glamours. You already use them to hide your scars. A few more wont hurt." Tom ignored his friend's glare over the implication of having a feminine figure.

"but what about a finite incantatum?"

"I will anchor the glamour so that it will not fail.

"it will be fine Harry. We will get what we need to done and you will have completed school."

"no Raven Thomas will have graduated."

"not to Hogwarts. The final grades and transcripts are not written by the teachers they are written by the school. The same with the list of incoming students, coarse letters and supply lists."

"How?"

"supposedly by an enchanted quill. But no one has seen it." Harry paused for a moment causing Tom to look back.

"you didn't."

"I just sort of stumbled onto it."

"you found something that has been lost or hidden since the founders themselves walked its halls."

"oops."

"control your luck my dear friend."

"What about sharing a dorm. i'm sure that reall girls will notice that i'm not a girl."

"Slytherins fourth year and up get private rooms. there would be no problems."

"what makes you so sure i'd be a Slytherin." Tom just looked at his friend.

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><p>"Who are the two of you?" Severus<p>

"Thomas Marvolo Gaunt."

"Raven Lillian Thomas."

"You will both need to be sorted.

"SLYTHERIN!" Tom smirked, there was never any doubt in his mind that Harry would be in Slytherin. after all it would take a true Slytherin to coerce the hat into putting them anywhere else.

"SLYTHERIN!"Harry shook his head at Tom. his friend would never change.

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><p>"fine then Gaunt I dare you to kiss her."<p>

"what?" Tom looked up from his book

"Kiss Thomas over there. Your so smooth, prove it. Kiss Thomas. She's turned down every other guy that tried asking. Good luck your gunna need it."

"none of you should have been trying

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><p>Draco wandered down into the Slytherin common room<p>

Tom and Raven were both laying curled up on the sofa together. Raven with her head resting on Tom's chest while Tom was sprawled leaning back against one of the cushions with his arms wrapped around her.

"dont you dare wake her Malfoy." Draco jumped a little at the sound of Tom's voice. Tom's dark blue eyes in that moment looked terrifyingly similar to the Dark Lord's. their oceanic depths morphed into endless abyssal pits that felt as though they swallowed his very soul.

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><p>"I'm running out of time Harry. Only one of us can live. I refuse to let it be him. I refuse to let anyone hurt you again."<p>

"what do you mean your running out of time. You cant…"

"using the time turner has been escalating the deterioration. Most likely he has felt it as well but he is too lost in his own mind to know what it means."

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><p>"Its all over now." Harry smiled brightly at his friend. the death eaters were done, the dark lord was gone and everyone was safe.<p>

Harry watched Fred still covered in blood, pick up Hermione and spin her around before kissing her. He watched him pull his twin into the embrace as they cried with joy together. Everyone was so happy.

"it is." Tom agreed.

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><p>"You were in school this whole time?"<p>

"yeah."

"how?"

"Raven Thomas."

"what about her?"

"it was all his fault." Harry pointed towards Tom.

"if you managed to make me believe that you were a girl for nearly ten years without even trying I was quite sure that you would be able to disguise yourself as one with little effort."

"YOU WERE HER!"

"Yeah." Harry mumbled.

"Mate you are way to good at posing as a girl." The rest of the Gryffindors nodded, most of the boys had noticed 'Raven' in less than platonic ways.


End file.
